Brandon Johnson reflects on Laquan McDonald shooting, 10 years later

CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Ten years after Laquan McDonald was shot and killed, Mayor Brandon Johnson is reflecting on how the city has progressed in its fight for what he described as “equitable community safety.”

Johnson called the murder of McDonald, who was 17 years old at the time of his death, “one of the darkest moments in our city’s history.”

McDonald died after he was shot by Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke 16 times. His murder is often regarded as one the single most impactful police shootings in Chicago in more than 40 years.

It also spurred a new era of reform. In the past decade, Johnson said Chicago “has created a new ecosystem of police accountability” with the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, along with a commitment to releasing footage from shootings involving officers.

After spending a little more than three years in prison for fatally shooting McDonald, Van Dyke was freed in 2022.

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