Chicago police dashcam video showing the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald must be released to the public, a Cook County judge decided Thursday.

McDonald, an African-American male, was shot by a white Chicago police officer 16 times in October 2014.

Cook County Judge Franklin Valderrama ordered that dashcam video of the incident be released to the public no later than November 25.  

The issue made its way to the court system after a freelance journalist filed an open records request for the video, which the city has refused to release, citing investigations into the shooting.

On the night of the incident, police say they were responding to a call about a man holding a knife in the Archer Heights community. Police claim that McDonald refused orders to drop a small knife and later began approaching officers. The officer who shot McDonald maintains that he feared for his safety.

The dashcam footage reportedly prompted the city to settle with the family of McDonald for $5 million in April. The city opted to settle with the family in order to avoid the filing of a federal lawsuit.