Oct. 2 (UPI) -- A Chicago police officer on trial for murder for shooting a 17-year-old boy took the stand on Tuesday and gave testimony that conflicted with video evidence of the incident.
Officer Jason Van Dyke killed Laquan McDonald on Oct. 20, 2014. That night, Van Dyke said, McDonald waved a knife and angled it toward him as he stared.
"[His] eyes were bugging out. His face was just expressionless," Van Dyke said, according to the Chicago Tribune. "He turned his torso towards me....He waved the knife from his lower right side upwards across his body towards [his] left shoulder."
At that point, Van Dyke shot McDonald and he fell to the ground. The officer said he began shooting again because he believed McDonald was trying to get back up.
"I could see him starting to push up with his left hand off the ground," Van Dyke said. "And I see his left shoulder start to come up, and I still see him holding that knife with his right hand not letting go of it. And his eyes are still bugged out. His face has got no expression on it."
Van Dyke fired all the bullets in his gun and began to reload when another officer intervened and told him the situation was under control. Van Dyke, who shot McDonald 16 times, was one of several officers on the scene but the only one to use his gun.
Video from a dashboard-mounted camera shows McDonald walking away from Van Dyke, who aimed his gun at the teen as soon as he arrived on the scene. McDonald is seen still clutching the knife while on the ground, but his lack of movement in the footage questions Van Dyke's claim that he tried to get back up.
"The video doesn't show my perspective," Van Dyke told prosecutors when asked about the discrepancy.
