The Chicago police officer charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Laquan McDonald is out of jail after posting a $1.5 million bond, according to multiple reports.
That means Jason Van Dyke had to come up with 10 percent of that ($150,000) in order to be released as he awaits trial.
Van Dyke, who makes $83,616 annually according to City of Chicago records, has been on unpaid leave since he was charged in the murder last week, though NBC Chicago reported that a Chicago branch of the Fraternal Order of Police began raising money for his bail a day later. A GoFundMe account reportedly raised more than $10,000 for Van Dyke before the site shut down the campaign because it violated their policies.
Van Dyke's attorney Daniel Herbert argued that his client was not a flight risk, had significant ties to the community and planned to fight the charges. Prosecutors had asked that he continue to be held without bail.
Protesters were out in force in Chicago streets last week after police released dash cam footage showing Van Dyke shooting 17-year-old McDonald 16 times.
NBC Chicago has also reported that a manager at the Burger King that McDonald was seen in the dash cam video running past told reporters that police officers erased more than 80 minutes of relevant video footage from the restaurant's security camera system.
Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez said this week that an investigation showed that that the video was not tampered with.
