On Tuesday, conservative Chicago Tribune reporter John Kass issued a warning about an unreleased dashboard video of a white cop shooting a black suspect, saying that if the footage goes public, the city will most likely split in two:

There is a video that could tear Chicago apart. It will go viral if released, and the world will see something ugly and frightening on the Southwest Side.

It comes from a police dashboard camera. City Hall worries that political hell may be on the way. Activists are primed. The politics of race and police use of force are at hand.

And a court hearing is scheduled for next week on whether it should be released to the public.

All this is going on just below the surface. All the players know what's at stake, so I thought you should know about it, too.

Kass Describes the video:

The video, without sound, is said to show Laquan McDonald, a 17-year-old African-American reportedly with PCP in his system, holding a small knife. He was shot to death by a white Chicago police officer, Jason Van Dyke, on the night of Oct. 20, 2014, at 41st and Pulaski on the Southwest Side.

City officials said police, responding to a call of a man slashing tires, followed McDonald carefully and calmly as he wandered. They called for backup and Tasers. Then McDonald walked out onto Pulaski Road.

Only one cop opened fire, shooting 16 times in all, and the video is said to show the rounds hitting McDonald in the back, the legs, arms, neck and head, the bullets making the body jump again and again.

The vote to release the video happens next week, November, 19.

The officer, who has a history of citizen complaints, has not been charged with a crime but has been relegated to desk duty, Kass states. The slain suspect's family received $5 million from the city.

"I figure Mayor Rahm Emanuel did not want the video shaping his mayoral-runoff election campaign," Kass added.

Kass spoke with someone who witnessed the shooting first hand. This man's account tells a different story from police who say McDonald "lunged" at the officer. He says the young man was not attacking anyone and had turned away from the officer when he was shot.

But no matter what side is chosen by those who see the video if it becomes available, Kass is right when he states:

If the video is released, many won't care about the drugs or the knife. Here's what will be seared on the American mind: the black body flinching with bullet after bullet from a white cop's gun.

I have not seen the video. "It's worse than anything that's come out this summer on police cases anywhere," said a source who has seen it. "He starts walking away from the officers. The first shot, he spins and falls to the ground. Then the officer continues to shoot, and intermittently, you see the body twitching and jerking from the rounds."

Kass offers insight into Chicago politics, writing, "The Emanuel administration continues to fight the release of the video."

City officials remain tight-lipped about the case refraining from comment. One of the city's alderman, who is said to have voted for the monetary settlement with the family, said, "My position is, if it doesn't serve a purpose to help heal, or make things better for our people, I suggest caution. If it's not going to help this most American of American cities, then let's be very, very careful what we do."

But others outside of Mayor Emanuel's circle are seeking transparency, citing the need for the public to determine for themselves what really happened. And Kass agrees:

Keeping the video secret serves the politics of City Hall. Releasing it serves the interests of activists and police critics who will make McDonald a martyr, and perhaps fashion him into a political club to hammer police and the mayor.

But the people deserve to see what happened. And once they see it, then the people can decide what to do about it. It's their city.