US police officer charged with murder of teenager Laquan McDonald

A white Chicago policeman has been charged with first-degree murder in the October 2014 shooting of a black teenager, a state prosecutor has said in a statement.

The officer, Jason Van Dyke, appeared at a bail hearing .

Last night, the city was due to release a patrol car dashboard camera video that it says shows the officer shooting Laquan McDonald 16 times, killing the 17-year-old.

The city has already paid Laquan’s family a $5m civil settlement because of the shooting.

Van Dyke has said through his lawyer and the police union that the shooting was justified because he felt under threat from Laquan, who was holding a knife.

The killing came at a time of heightened national awareness of police use of deadly force.

Widespread protests over police killings of black men have rocked a number of US cities in the past year and a half.

It has been decades since a Chicago police officer has been indicted for fatally shooting someone while on duty, local media said.

On Monday, community leaders met Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who asked them to help prevent violent protests after the release of the video.

The video footage was to be made public as a result of a judicial order stemming from a lawsuit brought by a freelance journalist.

The police union has opposed the release of the video, saying it will taint a potential jury.

Van Dyke has been on administrative duty while state and federal prosecutors investigated the shooting.