Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on Wednesday described a newly released video showing a white police officer shooting a black teen to death in Chicago as sickening.
“All Americans should be sickened by the video of Laquan McDonald’s murder,” the Independent Vermont senator said in a statement about the 17-year-old.
{mosads}Officer Jason Van Dyke has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the October 2014 shooting, which was captured in dashboard camera footage that was released Tuesday.
Van Dyke fired 16 shots at McDonald, who had a small knife on him. The officer’s lawyer said he feared for his life. Other officers were at the scene but didn’t fire shots.
“As a nation we must do more than just echo the phrase Black Lives Matter. We must put actions behind those words. Actions that will bring about the fundamental reform that is needed in the face of this crisis,” Sanders said in his statement.
“Criminal justice reform must be the civil rights issue of the 21st century and the first piece must be putting an end to the killing of African Americans by police officers,” Sanders added.
Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential front-runner, weighed in on the Chicago incident earlier Wednesday afternoon, calling for “justice and accountability” on behalf of the teen’s family.