Note: We have chosen not to embed the graphic dashboard-camera video that shows Laquan McDonald, 17 being shot and killed by Officer Jason Van Dyke. It can be found here.
Before Reading ‘Chicago Protests Mostly Peaceful After Video of Police Shooting Is Released’:
What have you heard about this case?
The article points out that it comes “amid a national debate over race, police shootings and a growing number of encounters captured on video showing police conduct.”
What other news stories can you list that involve race, the police and video cameras? Which of them has made the biggest impression on you? Why?
After Reading
Read the entire article and answer these questions, supporting your responses by citing evidence from the text.
1. Why did protesters march in downtown Chicago Tuesday night?
2. What does the video, released Tuesday, show? Why was it finally released?
3. Why did the the Cook County state’s attorney push to have the white Chicago police officer charged with first-degree murder before the video was made public?
4. What are some details of the Chicago police force’s “sometimes painful history” before this incident?
5. What happened on the night of Oct. 20, 2014, according to this article?
6. What is known about Officer Van Dyke’s history as a police officer? What is known about the victim, Laquan McDonald?
7. What is your reaction to this news? Why?
Going Further
In October, the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, said that the additional scrutiny and criticism of police officers in the wake of highly publicized episodes of police brutality might have led to an increase in violent crime in some cities as officers had become less aggressive. The White House disagreed.
In a recent Op-Ed essay, “More Scrutiny, Better Policing,” Eric Adams, a former captain in the New York Police Department and now the Brooklyn borough president, examines the question, writing that, although he shares the F.B.I. director’s concerns, he believes that scrutiny of police behavior is “part of the solution.”
What do you think? Why? What do you think cities like Chicago can do to improve relationships between police and the communities they serve?
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