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The Chicago police followed 17-year-old Laquan McDonald over more than a mile and a half, keeping their distance and time of purchase.
Even after McDonald punctured the tire of a car with a small folding knife, no one threatened to shoot him. Slowly down Pulaski Road, McDonald was stuck by a construction fence on his right and surrounded by half a dozen cars and 10 armed police. There was nowhere to go.
"We were trying to save time for a taser," said officer Joseph McElligott on Monday in a Cook County hearing room. "(McDonald's) made no direct movement on me and I felt like my partner was mostly protected inside the vehicle. … we were just trying to be patient.
McElligott was one of two patrol officers who offered crucial testimony on the first day of his colleague Jason Van Dyke's trial. He is charged with first-degree murder for shooting McDonald's in October 2014 – the first time in decades that a Chicago police officer has been tried for murder as part of a work-related accident. More than a year after the incident, Van Dyke's video on the police dashboard, which kills McDonald 16 times while the teenager appeared to be moving away from the police, was roaming the city by court order.
The defense told the jury that McDonald was responsible for his own death, having committed a "savage rampage" within 24 hours of the shooting. They also promised that the evidence would show that Van Dyke feared for his safety and for others when he pulled the trigger.
None of the officers, however, seemed to support this account when they took the witness stand.
In addition to McElligott's testimony, Constable Dora Fontaine told the jury that she arrived at the scene a few moments before Van Dyke opened fire. She testified that McDonald made no attempt to stab anyone or made any aggressive moves. She heard gunshots, saw McDonald turn and fall to the ground. Van Dyke was still shooting McDonald's while he was lying in the street, she said.
Fountain has never drawn his weapon.
The case has long been racist because Van Dyke is white and McDonald's was black. On Monday, special prosecutor Joseph McMahon wasted no time arguing that the race was a motivational factor in the shootings, declaring within minutes of his opening statement that McDonald's was African-American. one of the only ones he decided to shoot.
"What he knew, what he saw, was a black boy who was walking down the street … having the audacity to ignore the police," he said. said McMahon.
When Van Dyke arrived on the scene that night, he started firing within six seconds, firing on the 16 bullets and even trying to reload while McDonald was standing on the street, McMahon said.
McMahon then counted each shot for the jury, hammering the lectern each time.
"The accused is attempting to shoot Laquan McDonald, not once, but twice, three, four, five, six, seven, eight – and we're only half – nine, 10, 11, 12 , 13, 14, 15 and 16 times, he says.
In his opening remarks, Van Dyke's senior lawyer, Daniel Herbert, complains that race is a factor, telling the jury that McDonald's is black "absolutely nothing to do with the decision." of Van Dyke to open fire.
Van Dyke's lawyers argued that the shooting was an obvious case of self-defense, portraying McDonald as a violent and uncontrollable teenager who was a danger to the PCP and posed a threat to officers and civilians. Herbert said the evidence will show that McDonald's had been "unleashed" through Chicago in the hours before filming – though he offered little detail.
As Van Dyke and his partner headed for the stage, the "The threat level is increasing," especially after McDonald took off running towards a more populated area on Pulaski, Herbert said. He even suggested that the police had a duty to shoot at McDonald's to keep him from bumping into Dunkin 'Donuts across the street.
But the testimonies of McElligott and Fontaine seemed to disturb the claim that Van Dyke was afraid for his life or that of someone else.
Fontaine, who was immunized by state and federal prosecutors in exchange for her testimony, told the jury that she had seen McDonald swing the knife up and down the street. The video of Dashcam broadcast during his testimony showed that Fontaine and his partner approached the scene just before McDonald's first photo.
"I hear, drop the knife! Drop the knife! Fontaine said, adding that McDonald's has never accused the police or attacked anyone.
The jury did not hear that the Inspector General of the city recommended that we dismiss Fountain for having heard Van Dyke and Walsh repeatedly order McDonald's to abandon the knife, even though the video shows that she did not leave her car. Superintendent Eddie Johnson finally did not seek to fire her, claiming that the evidence against him was insufficient. It was not known which discipline, if any, was sought.
McElligott, who testified in uniform and was nervous at the helm, said he and his partner responded to a 911 call from a trucker who spotted McDonald trying to break into an industrial lot at 41st Street. and Kildare Avenue.
McElligott said that they found McDonald's walking on 40th Street. After McDonald showed a knife, he got out of his car and pulled out his gun, ordering the teen to drop the weapon. McDonald kept walking and McElligott followed him on foot at a distance of about 10 to 15 feet while his partner was driving their car next to the officer.
As dispatchers sent out a radio Taser application, McDonald continued to pass the Greater Chicago Food Depository, where surveillance cameras captured McElligott shining a flashlight at McDonald's when they walked. The teenager would occasionally turn to show the knife by his side, but McElligott says that he never felt that he or his partner were threatened.
When his partner tried twice to cut McDonald's with the police car to prevent him from going further, the teenager stabbed the tire and scraped the windshield with the knife, said McElligott. McDonald then began running, and other team cars cut McDonald's McElligott.
Shortly after, McElligott heard at least 10 successive shots. As he got closer, he saw McDonald's in the street and Van Dyke nearby, his gun still in his hand.
"He had air in shock," McElligott said.
5 takeaways from the first day of the Jason Van Dyke trial »
The long-awaited trial began in Gaughan County Judge Cook's courtroom after months of bickering and three days of jury selection. Among the spectators were Van Dyke's wife, Tiffany, and her father, Owen, 77 years old. Sitting next to Van Dyke's family is Reverend George Clements, an African-American Catholic priest known for his involvement in the civil rights movement. .
Several members of McDonald's extended family were present, but his mother, Tina Hunter, was not at the rostrum for Monday's testimony. She could be a witness in the case.
Van Dyke, dressed in a dark suit and tie, kept his hands crossed in front of him on the defense table during much of Monday's testimony, looking without visible emotion.
Outside the Leighton courthouse, some protesters chanted slogans and brandished placards demanding that Van Dyke be found guilty by video recordings that provoked months of protests, political upheaval, and significant police change. . None of the protesters were present when the jurors arrived at the courthouse.
Despite the fireworks in court in the months leading up to the trial, Monday's opening day was largely underestimated. In his brief opening statement to the jury, McMahon stated that the police had the power to shoot with their weapons in very specific situations, but this was not the case. Supporting the 3-inch blade that McDonald was carrying that night, McMahon suggested that the teenager could have – and should have – been mastered with a Taser.
"Not a single shot was necessary or justified," he said. "There is a Taser unit of the Chicago police en route, and not a single pedestrian in sight."
By the time McDonald ran on Pulaski Road, five police cars and ten armed police were on the scene, McMahon said. A seven-foot construction fence cut off any leak to the right of the teenager.
When Van Dyke arrived on the scene, he started firing in six seconds, McMahon said. McDonald was hit on the street within 1.6 seconds of shooting, but Van Dyke shot another 12.5 seconds until his gun was emptied.
McMahon also told the jury that Van Dyke had started reloading his gun after firing at McDonald's – evidence showing that not long ago the defense tried in vain to prevent the jury from hearing. Van Dyke did not stop reloading until his partner told him to stop.
In his opening statement, Herbert warned jurors that the infamous dashcam video does not tell the full story, partly because it did not understand how the incident had evolved from the point of view from Van Dyke.
"What happened to Laquan McDonald was a tragedy," he said. "It's a tragedy. This is not a murder.
READ MORE: How the roads of Laquan McDonald and Jason Van Dyke went through this fateful night »
Herbert told the jurors that the defense had recreated a video to show Van Dyke's perspective. At one point, he picked up the brown-handled knife that McDonald had on him and started to swing him by imitating what Herbert had said was McDonald's attempt to kill the man who had originally called 911 against him.
With a close-up of a Chicago police car on the screen, he noted that Illinois law governing the use of force by the police justified Van Dyke's actions that night.
"The police have a duty to protect the public, to protect people from potential harm, and that's what we have here, ladies and gentlemen," he said.
He also painted Van Dyke as a prominent citizen who prepared breakfast for his family, bade farewell to his wife and filled in a list of "making honey" before going to work on the night of filming.
"What he did not know at that time was that his life was going to change forever," said Herbert.
Christy Gutowski from Chicago Tribune contributed.
MORE COVER OF LAW TRIAL BY MCDONALD AND VAN DYKE
"This child had an impact on people": Laquan McDonald's hectic life and ephemeral potential
Meet the jury, the judge and the lawyers: in Jason Van Dyke's hearing room »
Agent Van Dyke speaks for the first time since filming Laquan McDonald 16 times
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