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Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke was released Thursday from Cook County Jail, surrounded by a phalanx of police officers in Chicago uniform, after a judge granted him an interview.
Approximately 90 minutes earlier, Judge Vincent Gaughan added $ 2,000 to Van Dyke's initial $ 1.5 million loan, claiming that the officer violated the terms of his relationship with reporters a few days before beginning of the trial.
Van Dyke remained speechless as the sheriff's deputies stopped him and escorted him from the courtroom after Gaughan announced his decision in court. His lawyer left the courtroom a short time later with a plastic bag containing his belongings, including a tie, a belt, a wedding ring and a $ 20 bill.
Gaughan's decision meant that Mr. Van Dyke had to pay $ 200 to get out of the jail, which was much lighter than the jail term requested by the prosecutors. It also reflected Gaughan's delicate calculation – the exceptionally authoritative judge had to show that his order had teeth without igniting the already serious case.
Van Dyke's father, his attorney and several Chicago police officers immediately offered the money. The court records show that his father posted the $ 200 around 11:45 am Thursday.
About half an hour later, Van Dyke left the prison on the rainy sidewalk, hugged his father and went into a white minivan without comment. Service officers and service officers surrounded him in an attempt to protect him from a crowd of journalists and cameramen.
Last week, Van Dyke gave his first interview to La Tribune since he shot 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, who was on duty in October 2014. He also spoke with WFLD-Channel 32 the next day.
In both interviews, he told reporters that he was being punished for doing his job and that he would only have fired his gun if he feared for his safety or that of other police officers or the public.
"He has only decided to do so because of the avalanche of publicity against him, advertising that can not ensure a fair trial," said Thursday Randy Rueckert, a lawyer Van Dyke. "For 2 years and a half, it was the white policeman who shot the black teenager. It has nothing to do with black or white and for two and a half years he had to sit down and take it.
Prosecutors first asked the judge to try Van Dyke for contempt during the interview, but then said that it would be more appropriate to postpone this decision after the trial, which kicked off Wednesday at the Leighton Courthouse in Chicago. Potential jurors have completed questionnaires and will return on Monday when jury selection begins in earnest.
Herbert argued that Van Dyke had a first amendment right to speak with the press, particularly after three years of largely negative coverage. Defense counsel accused prosecutors on Thursday of clashing with McDonald's relatives, some of whom held a press conference on Tuesday to urge protesters to be peaceful during and after the trial.
The judge was exceptionally strict in controlling the dissemination of information about the case. He has regularly held lengthy in camera discussions and emptied his audience hall of viewers and journalists during several recent hearings in the courtroom.
The video of the police dashboard camera released in 2015 by a court order shows that Van Dyke opened fire a few seconds after leaving his vehicle while McDonald, holding a knife, seemed to be moving away from the vehicle. police. with the weapon. The release of the video more than a year after filming sparked months of protests and political upheaval.
The case task force had requested that Van Dyke's bond be revoked as a punishment for the interviews, claiming that public comments had ignored Gaughan's "decorative order" unless substantial public comment from lawyers.
Van Dyke has been released on bail since he was charged in November 2015 after his family paid the $ 150,000 bail.
As a condition of his release, he was obliged to follow all court orders, Gaughan noted on Thursday.
"Was this interview a violation of the bail condition? Yes, that was, "said the judge. "I will not go in and speculate if it was an attempt to contaminate a potential pool of jurors. … I will not even comment or make findings if the interview was really beneficial.
In pleading for Van Dyke to be jailed on Thursday, Joseph Cullen, a member of the prosecution special team, attacked the talks as an effort to "judge the press."
Cullen stated that Van Dyke's comments dealt directly with the allegation of self-defense that his lawyers are expected to defend at trial. He also considered that advertising would undermine efforts to select a fair jury.
"It can not be clearer that the accused is in the press trying to try this case and present his case," Cullen said. "He's trying to testify in the press without being cross-examined."
Rueckert denied that Van Dyke was trying to influence prospective jurors and noted that the McDonald family had also spoken to the media.
"The family of the victim in this case – quote, quote, victim – has been giving press conferences for at least two weeks," he said. "If we're talking about trying to spoil a pool of jurors, that would be more impressive."
In addition, he said special prosecutor Joseph McMahon recently gave interviews to the media, including one with the Sun-Times for an article last week. A profile of McMahon and Daniel Herbert, Van Dyke's lead counsel, appeared in Tuesday's Tribune. The two lawyers also spoke with WBEZ-FM 91.5.
But Cullen argued that McMahon had not discussed any issues that would violate Gaughan's decorating order.
The only witness called Thursday by prosecutors was Anne Kavanagh, public relations strategist Van Dyke. She verified that Van Dyke had given interviews at both the Tribune and Fox Station. She testified that she attended both sessions and that the story of Tribune accurately reflected Van Dyke's comments.
Van Dyke, 40, gave a 40-minute interview to the newspaper Tribune on August 28. The Tribune previously reported that the conversation was tightly controlled by Van Dyke's lawyers and a public relations strategist who attended the interview.
McDonald's great-uncle, Reverend Marvin Hunter, who knew the defense had criticized McDonald's family for giving media interviews earlier in the day, told the Tribune trial.
"I do not want anything or anyone to try to influence this jury or the decision of this judge," he said. "I want this trial to be based on his own merit and on the work done by the prosecutors."
Hunter also solved the problem of family seats in the courtroom on the first day of the trial.
"We saw it as a personal attack on the family, but I think they just did not know how to handle what they were doing and it was just bad communication," he said. -he declares. "But that's fine."
The trial is expected to resume on Monday when prospective jurors will be individually questioned about their backgrounds, opinions and possible biases. The process should last at least a week or longer.
Agent Van Dyke speaks for the first time since filming Laquan McDonald 16 times
Prosecutors seek to jail Van Dyke for the Chicago Tribune interview a few days before the trial "
The judge asks about the opportunity to imprison Van Dyke for giving an interview to Tribune a few days before the trial »
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