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CHICAGO – Jason Van Dyke, a white policeman from Chicago, was convicted of second-degree murder on Friday, nearly four years after shooting Laquan McDonald, a 17-year-old Black man with a knife.
The violent meeting triggered intense protests across the city after the authorities broadcast a video showing 16 shots fired by Van Dyke on McDonald's, which led to a massive federal investigation and forced senior officials to leave. their jobs. The closely monitored trial again highlighted the tense relationship between the city's police force and its residents, particularly people of color, as well as the issues that arise here and at home. national scale regarding how police use lethal force.
Van Dyke – who was also convicted of 16 aggravated battery charges, one for every shot shot at McDonald's – said he feared for his life. His lawyers said McDonald, 17, would be alive when he dropped the weapon. Prosecutors argued that McDonald's death was not justified and accused Van Dyke of "exaggerating the threat". The jurors found Mr. Van Dyke not guilty of official misconduct.
[Chicago police shooting case goes to jury in a city braced for potential violence]
This verdict marks the latest in seemingly endless shock waves from McDonald's death and subsequent publication of the video, which continue to resonate in the city and have dominated the second term of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D ).
After the release of the video in November 2015, Emanuel ousted his police commissioner, Garry McCarthy, who later stated that he was an autumn man and that he was now showing up. the town hall. Voters then fired the prosecutor, who waited a year to indict Van Dyke. The Department of Justice opened an investigation and concluded in a scathing report last year that the department was violating the constitutional rights of residents. A week before the start of Van Dyke's trial, Emanuel announced that he would not run for a third term.
Laquan McDonald walks on a road (top left left) and is then filmed (bottom right) by agent Jason Van Dyke (not shown) in Chicago, in this combination of still images taken from a camera from the camera shot from a video 20, 2014. (Chicago Police Department via Reuters)
This trial has been scrutinized in part because of the scarcity of police officers accused of shooting people in service. Convictions are even less likely because the law gives officers wide latitude to use lethal force. In recent years, civilians shot dead by police officers Cincinnati, Milwaukee, North Charleston, S.C. and the Minneapolis area sparked intense protests, followed by criminal charges, and acquittals or juries in the stalemate.
The death of McDonald in October 2014 – just weeks after the white murder of a white police officer in Ferguson – only drew the country's attention 13 months later, the court ordered the release of the video of the police. The authorities initially reported that McDonald had snuck into police, but the footage showed that McDonald was walking slowly in the middle of Pulaski Road before touching the ground after being hit by Van Dyke's bullets. The police department has recommended the dismissal of agents for lying about the death of McDonald's, and three current or former officers were indicted last year for conspiracy to conceal what had happened.
[Dozens claim a Chicago detective beat them into confessions. A pattern of abuse or a pattern of lies?]
In a statement after the verdict, Chicago Police Superintendent Emanuel and Eddie Johnson called on police, officials and residents to "continue to hear and collaborate with each other".
"Although the jury heard the case and reached its conclusion, our collective work is not over," they said. "The effort to achieve sustainable reform and build trust between residents and the police must continue vigorously."
After the video aired in November 2015 – the very day Van Dyke was charged with first degree murder – protesters marched through the streets of downtown Chicago throughout Emanuel's tenure. They gathered in front of the mayor's home on Lake Shore Drive and even on two lanes of the Dan Ryan Expressway to call attention to police reform and what they accused was a concealment hidden in front of the police. city Hall.
[Chicago police officers have pattern of using excessive force, scathing Justice Dept. report says]
The city authorities had opposed the publication of the tape in court. This was only made public after Emanuel's reelection for a second term and after the Chicago City Council approved a $ 5 million settlement with the McDonald family.
Last year, the city borrowed $ 225 million for police-related settlements and judgments, bringing the total to $ 709 million between 2010 and 2017, according to a report from the Center. action for race and the economy. The organization estimates that the loan will eventually cost more than $ 1 billion in interest to Chicago taxpayers for the duration of the bonds.
The tension surrounding the Van Dyke trial is strong. The protesters gathered in front of George N. Leighton's criminal court every day of the trial, which lasted three weeks. Some skyscraper owners in downtown Chicago warned residents of the possibility of violence following the verdict.
In a joint statement, activist Carl Dix and philosopher Cornel West described Van Dyke's actions as "illegitimate violence" that the trial "reinforced".
"If the court allowed Van Dyke to free himself, it would also be illegitimate violence – a threat to all black and brown Chicago boys," they said. Some activists have pleaded for peaceful protests in the form of an economic boycott.
Berman reported from Washington. This story, published for the first time at 15:09, will be updated.
Further reading:
Washington Post Police Shooting Database
Chicago police "have no regard" for minority life, report says
Chicagoians believe that children who grow up there are as likely to be victims of violent crime as college graduates
Chicago will make changes to its police service as a "down payment" on the reform
Chicago Publishes "Unprecedented" Evidence from Nearly 100 Investigations into Police Shootings and Use of Force
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