By Nick Gale, WLS-AM 890 News

(CHICAGO) — The mother of a teenager shot and killed by a Chicago Police officer has finally appeared in court.

Laquan McDonald’s mother, Tina Hunter, finally appeared in court after previously not complying with court subpoenas. Judge Vincent Gaughan had threatened that if Hunter didn’t show up to answer the courts questions, she wouldn’t be allow to attend the trial of officer Jason Van Dyke, who is accused of shooting McDonald 16 times in 2014. Van Dyke has claimed he shot McDonald because he feared his life was in danger.

Before taking the witness stand Thursday, Gaughan cleared the courtroom so the public and media could not hear her testimony. Gaughan said he wanted Hunter’s testimony sealed out of concern that it might prejudice potential jurors before Van Dyke’s first-degree murder trial begins September 5. The court wanted to ask her about her son’s background.

Hunter has never spoken publicly about her son’s death and had reached a $5 million settlement with the city and now resides in the Western Suburbs.

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