Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel addresses the media prior to releasing the video.
Fox 6 TV / Via fox6now.com
Chicago officials on Tuesday released a graphic dash cam video of a white police officer fatally shooting a black teenager 16 times in 2014 after a judge ordered them to make it public.
Officer Jason Van Dyke was also charged with first-degree murder in the death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, which was captured by the camera.
"Anyone who is there to uphold the law cannot act as if they are above the law," Mayor Rahm Emanuel told reporters. "Jason Van Dyke does not represent the police department."
Watch video of the shooting here:
Officials also appealed for calm Tuesday, noting that while the public had a right to peacefully demonstrate, criminal acts would not be tolerated.
"We're not predicting doom and gloom," Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarth said. "We are predicting protests, which is something that we do two or three times a day in the city of Chicago."
The city had refused to release the video of Van Dyke shooting McDonald, arguing that doing so could jeopardize the ongoing investigation in the death. However, a judge last week ordered the Chicago Police Department to release the video no later than Wednesday, sending city officials scrambling to work with civic leaders and appeal for public demonstrations and reaction to be peaceful.
At right, an autopsy diagram shows the location of wounds on body of McDonald.
AP / ABC
In April, the Chicago City Council approved a $5-million settlement with the family, the terms of which prohibit attorneys from releasing the dash cam video.
Michael Robbins, a lawyer for the McDonald family, told BuzzFeed News that his clients were not looking forward to the "very graphic and disturbing" footage being made public. However, Robbins, who has seen the video, said it was important that the public "learn the truth of what happened."
Van Dyke is no longer on the city's payroll, officials said.
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SOURCE: BuzzFeed
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