Race, Policing, and Lethal Force: Remedying Shooter Bias with Martial Arts Training

On November 24, 2015, the city of Chicago released dashboard camera video footage of the shooting of a seventeen-year-old Black male teenager named Laquan McDonald by Jason Van Dyke, a police officer with the Chicago Police Department. The video shows McDonald strolling down the street, holding a knife in his right hand by his side. McDonald does not appear to be threatening anyone. In fact, there is no one within his striking distance. Seconds later, we see a small figure to the left of the screen, pointing a gun in McDonald’s direction. A shot rings out, and McDonald falls to the ground. Then, the popping sound of several more gunshots—a total of sixteen shots in fifteen seconds—and the sight of McDonald’s body twitching as he is shot over and over while lying on the ground. The fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald occurred in October 2014, but the City of Chicago refused requests to release