No charges for Chicago officer in other 2014 shooting

Source: AP

By DON BABWIN and CARLA K. JOHNSON

CHICAGO (AP) — A dashcam video of another 2014 fatal shooting of a black man by a Chicago police officer has become public, with Cook County's top prosecutor explaining in unusual detail her reasons for not charging the officer. Here are the key parts of the case:

THE ANNOUNCEMENT

Anita Alvarez, the county state's attorney, cited "the totality of the evidence" when announcing Monday that she would not charge Officer George Hernandez in the death of 25-year-old Ronald Johnson III. Hernandez shot Johnson in the back as he fled from officers.

The shooting occurred just eight days before Officer Jason Van Dyke, who is white, shot 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, who was black, 16 times. Alvarez charged Van Dyke with first-degree murder last month, hours before the release of dashcam video of McDonald's death, which led to days of protests and the ouster of the city's police chief.


On Monday, Alvarez's news conference came about two hours after the U.S. Justice Department announced it would investigate the Chicago Police Department for patterns of racial disparity in the use of force in the aftermath of McDonald's shooting.

FULL story at link.


Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Lynn McCarthy shows a map at a news conference, Monday, Dec. 7, 2015, in Chicago detailing evidence before showing a dashcam video of the Oct. 12, 2014 shooting death of 25-year-old Ronald Johnson by a Chicago police officer. Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez announced Monday that Officer George Hernandez will not be charged in the shooting. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford)

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