The Illinois Attorney General's Office is asking the Chicago Police Department to release the video that shows an officer shooting a black teenager 16 times last year, killing him.
In a letter released Wednesday, Assistant Attorney General Neil Olson says the department failed to offer evidence that releasing the video would interfere with an ongoing investigation of the October 2014 shooting death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.
The letter in response to a Freedom of Information request filed on behalf of the Wall Street Journal comes a day before a Cook County judge is expected to rule on a similar request by a freelance journalist.
The video has been of intense interest after it was revealed that the officer shot McDonald.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has said it would be premature to released the video because of an ongoing FBI investigation.
City Corporation Counsel Stephen Patton has told aldermen the video shows an officer shooting McDonald 16 times as he walked along a street.
At the time, McDonald was behaving erratically and refusing police commands to drop a 4-inch folding knife. An autopsy later determined he had PCP in his system.
The police union has maintained the officer fired in fear of his life. However, Patton says images of the incident led to the city's $5 million settlement with the teen's family.
