The Chicago police officer charged in the fatal shooting of teenager Laquan McDonald has made a brief court appearance. Jason Van Dyke was in court Thursday, the same day Chicago's police superintendent recommended that seven officers accused of filing false reports related to the case be fired.
Van Dyke shot McDonald 16 times in 2014 and faces first-degree murder charges. He has pleaded not guilty. He didn't address reporters after the hearing. His attorney Daniel Herbert declined to comment on the move to fire the officers.
Herbert asked prosecutors to specify how his client acted "without legal authority" when he shot McDonald. Also in the filings, Herbert asked prosecutors to identify "the particular shot or shots which killed Laquan McDonald."
Chicago's Office of Inspector General submitted roughly 15,000 pages of investigative files linked to the shooting.
