Chicago cop pleads not guilty in shooting death of teen
CHICAGO - A white Chicago police officer who shot a black teenager 16 times has pleaded not guilty to murder charges.
Jason Van Dyke appeared in Cook County Criminal court Tuesday in Chicago.
The veteran officer faces six counts of first-degree murder and one of official misconduct in the 2014 shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.
Public outcry has been furious since a dashcam video was released last month showing Van Dyke shooting McDonald 16 times. The teenager, armed with a knife, was veering away from officers when Van Dyke opened fire.
The footage sparked days of street demonstrations, the forced resignation of Police Superintendent Garry McCarthyand a broad federal civil rights investigation of the police department's practices and how allegations of officer misconduct are handled.
Over the weekend, Chicago Police shot and killed two other people, a 55-year-old woman who was shot accidentally and a 19-year-old man whom police have said was "combative" before he was shot.
The department will not say how many officers fired their weapons or what the two people were doing before they were shot.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who has been the target of heavy criticism and calls for resignation since the McDonald video was released last month, is due to return Tuesday afternoon from a family vacation in Cuba.