A graphic video released this week showing a white police officer fatally shooting a black teen in Chicago 13 months ago has raised questions about how this case has been investigated and prompted pleas for protesters to show restraint.

So far, the streets of Chicago have not seen the kind of violence that followed the deaths of other black teens at the hands of white police officers elsewhere in the U.S.

Still, there are many outstanding questions regarding the case of Laquan McDonald, whose death has now led to a first-degree murder charge against Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke.

1. Why did it take so long for the video to be made public?

McDonald was shot on Oct. 20, 2014. A judge last week ordered that the dash-cam video be released, and it was made public on Tuesday.

"To me, the first question is why it was kept from the public for so long," says Craig Futterman, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School.

Futterman, one of the lawyers who brought the Freedom of Information Act case to seek the video's release, questioned the elapsed time particularly because there has been an ongoing conversation throughout the U.S. on race and policing. 

"There's no way you earn any trust without honesty," he said, noting the "best practice" is releasing videos like the one in this case within 24 to 48 hours.

"There was absolutely no reason not to here."

Read more at CBC News