Rare conviction for cop who killed
United States
Four years after he fired 16 bullets into a black teenager, three years after dashcam video of the shooting was released and three weeks after his murder trial began, Jason Van Dyke’s transformation from Chicago patrol officer to convicted felon came suddenly.
A clerk announced the jury’s decision. The judge revoked his bond. And Van Dyke, the first city officer in about a half century to be convicted of murder in an on-duty shooting, put his hands behind his back as if handcuffed and strode across a courtroom into custody.
The scene Friday, local time, was a quiet coda to the tension that erupted after the video was made public in November
2015. The shocking footage showed Laquan Mcdonald crumpling to the ground as the officer fired repeatedly at the teen, who was walking away from police. The video drew nationwide outrage and put the nation’s thirdlargest city at the center of the debate about police misconduct and the use of force.
The magnitude of the conviction for second-degree murder was inescapable as Van Dyke walked out of sight of his family and Mcdonald’s relatives. ‘‘This verdict provides validation and a sense of justice for many residents of Chicago and Cook County and beyond this area ... the African-american communities across our country,’’ special prosecutor Joseph Mcmahon said after the verdict was read. The choice of second-degree murder reflected the jury’s finding that Van Dyke believed his life was in danger but that the belief was unreasonable. The jury also had the option of first degree-murder, which required finding that the shooting was unnecessary and unreasonable. A firstdegree conviction, with enhancements for the use of a gun, would have carried a mandatory minimum of 45 years.
Second-degree murder usually carries a sentence of less than 20 years, especially for someone with no criminal history. Probation is also an option.
Van Dyke was also convicted of 16 counts of aggravated battery — one for each bullet. –AP