Chicago writer Jamie Kalven focuses on patterns of police abuse and impunity in Chicago. He heard about an attempted cover up of the details in the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old wielding a knife.
Officer Jason Van Dyke, who is white, shot McDonald, a black youth, 16 times in 14 seconds.
Thousands of protesters have hit the streets of the city since a dash-cam video of the shooting was released yesterday, when Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder.
Kalven, who is part of the Invisible Institute project in Chicago and describes himself as a human rights activist, broke the story for Slate. Once the city settled a $5 million suit with McDonald’s family, major Chicago media outlets picked up the story.
The institute describes itself as a journalistic production company that works to enhance the capacity of civil society to hold public institutions accountable.
