Summary Dyke's arraignment comes as the midwestern US city is reeling from another fatal police shooting
CHICAGO: (AFP) - A Chicago police officer pleaded not guilty Tuesday to murder charges in the shooting death of a black teenager that inflamed tensions over racism and police tactics, US media reported.
Officer Jason Van Dyke s arraignment comes as the midwestern US city is reeling from another fatal police shooting.
Embattled mayor Rahm Emanuel cut his vacation short after police responding to a domestic dispute killed a young black man who was allegedly holding a baseball bat as he came down the stairs and also "accidentally" shot dead his neighbor, a mother of five who had answered the door.
Van Dyke, who is white, is the first Chicago police officer to be charged with murder for an on-duty fatality in more than 30 years.
Chicago police initially said that Laquan McDonald, 17, was high on the hallucinogen PCP, and had acted erratically and lunged at officers with a knife when he was shot dead in October 2014.
City officials fought for months to prevent the release of a dashcam video which caught his final moments. It showed Van Dyke shooting Laquan McDonald 16 times as the teenager walked away.
Prosecutors said Van Dyke opened fire just 30 seconds after his cruiser pulled up to the scene and six seconds after stepping out of it.
Van Dyke s lawyer entered a not guilty plea on his behalf at a brief hearing, according to the Chicago Tribune.
