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CHICAGO – The Chicago white policeman who fired 16 shots at Laquan McDonald, a black teenager, is guilty of second degree murder, a jury said Friday.
The defendant, Jason Van Dyke, became the first Chicago police officer convicted of murder for a shooting in service for nearly 50 years. His case has been closely watched in this city since the publication in 2015 of the video of the shooting dashboard.
The jurors also sentenced officer Van Dyke for 16 aggravated battery charges with a firearm, one for each shot fired by him at Laquan. Agent Van Dyke, who was escorted out of the crowded courtroom, hands crossed in the back, could face decades of prison after being sentenced.
Outside the courthouse, a group of activists – who had planned demonstrations if the acquirer was acquitted – applauded and chanted: "Justice for Laquan! Justice for Laquan!
Even in the rare cases where officers are accused of shooting, prosecutors often have trouble getting convictions. Agent Van Dyke, 40, on unpaid leave since being indicted, said at the trial that he feared Laquan would attack him and act while he was trained.
"I kept looking at that knife and shooting at it," Van Dyke told the jury. "I just wanted him to get rid of this knife."
Prosecutors argued that Laquan had tried to escape the police and that it posed no lethal threat. The decision of officer Van Dyke to continue shooting after the teenager fell to the ground was particularly scandalous, they said.
"He continued shooting at a completely vulnerable and defenseless young man, who was shaking every time Van Dyke pulled the trigger and pumped another bullet into his body," said Joseph McMahon, the lead prosecutor. "How is this reasonable and necessary?"
Laquan's death attracted little immediate media attention, and city officials spent more than a year trying to keep the dashboard video out of public view. When the film was finally released under On court order, outraged protesters walked for weeks, chanting "16 shots and concealment". The Superintendent of Police has been dismissed. The county attorney lost his candidacy for reelection. The police department has tightened the rules that apply when officers can fire and equip all agents from the camera and Tasers patrol.
The years passed before the trial of agent Van Dyke and the repercussions of this case continued to transform Chicago. The Department of Justice issued a damning report detailing a pattern of excessive force and discriminatory tactics. And on the eve of the jury selection, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, whose popularity and power declined after the broadcast of the video, announced that he would not run again next year.
"It changed the lives of everyone in this city," said Ja'Mal Green, an activist who is among the many candidates running to replace Emanuel. "This has caused people to pay attention to politics and policies."
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