Chicago cop involved in Laquan McDonald shooting released on $1.5 million bond

Jason Van Dyke.
(Image credit: Jonathan Gibby/Getty Images)

Jason Van Dyke, the Chicago police officer charged with the first-degree murder of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald in October 2014, was released on $1.5 million bond Monday.

Van Dyke was arrested Nov. 24, more than a year after he allegedly shot McDonald 16 times and just hours before dash-cam footage was released showing the shooting. Reporters on the scene said Van Dyke didn't say a word as he left the Cook County jail, but on Twitter, people upset over his release didn't mince words. "Jason Van Dyke release on bond today," Chance the Rapper tweeted. "He murdered a boy."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.