Chicago officer Jason Van Dyke pleads not guilty in Laquan McDonald killing

Jason Van Dyke was charged with murder after dashboard camera video was released showing Mr Van Dyke shooting the 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times

Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke leaves the Criminal Courts Building in Chicago, Illinois on December 29, 2015, after pleading not guilty to first-degree murder charges related to the shooting death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Chicago policeman Jason Van Dyke pleaded not guilty to murder charges in the shooting death of Laquan McDonald, whose killing has renewed scrutiny over policing in the city and across the United States.

Mr Van Dyke was formally charged with six counts of first-degree murder at Chicago's Cook County Circuit Court Tuesday.

Judge Leroy Martin, Jr. assigned the case to Judge Vincent Gaughan, who presided over the child pornography trial of singer-songwriter R. Kelly, local newspaper Chicago Sun-Times reported.

As he entered the courthouse, bystanders yelled epithets including "Blue-eyed devil," Mitch Dudek, a Chicago Sun-Times reporter said on Twitter.

A judge charged Mr Van Dyke, 37, with first-degree murder on November 24, after video — captured by a police car dashboard camera — was released showing Mr Van Dyke shooting the 17-year-old Mr McDonald 16 times on October 20, 2014. Police have said that Mr McDonald refused to comply with orders to drop a knife he had been wielding.

President Barack Obama told the press that he was “deeply disturbed” by the footage. McDonald’s and other high-profile police killings drove hundreds of protesters to block Chicago’s retail district on Black Friday, the U.S.’s post-Thanksgiving sales event.

Chicago saw tensions over its police department's use of force and alleged discrimination against communities of colour renewed Monday, two days after police shot dead Quintonio LeGrier, 19, and Bettie Jones, 55.

Ms Jones “was accidentally struck and tragically killed” amid a standoff between other parties and the police, the Chicago Police Department said in a press release.

Reverend Al Sharpton, a renowned civil liberties advocate, on Monday reiterated calls by police brutality opponents for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to step down over what they call his mishandling of police reform, The Washington Times reported. Hours later, Mayor Emanuel said that he would cut short a family trip to Cuba to continue efforts to address police reform.

US Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced on December 7 that the US Justice Department would investigate the “patterns and practices” of the Chicago Police Department. The announcement came weeks after the release of the video of Mr McDonald’s shooting.

“Specifically, we will examine a number of issues related to the Chicago Police Department’s use of force, including its use of deadly force, racial, ethnic and other disparities in its use of force,” US Attorney General Loretta Lynch told the press.