President Obama was “deeply disturbed” by the footage showing the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, he said Wednesday evening.
“Like many Americans, I was deeply disturbed by the footage of the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald,” Obama wrote in a Facebook post.
{mosads}McDonald was shot by Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke, 37, who allegedly fired 16 rounds at McDonald during a confrontation on Chicago’s South Side in October 2014.
Dashboard-camera footage of the incident was released Tuesday after a journalist’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
Peaceful protests erupted in Chicago on Tuesday in response to the video, continuing into Wednesday.
Van Dyke has been charged with first-degree murder.
Obama encouraged Americans to be thankful for the “overwhelming majority of men and women in uniform who protect our communities with honor.”
“And I’m personally grateful to the people of my hometown for keeping protests peaceful,” he added.