Expert: 12 bullets hit standing teen

CHICAGO — A defense expert in the trial of a white police officer charged with murder in the death of Laquan McDonald criticized the official autopsy results in testimony Monday.

Forensic pathologist Shaku Teas testified that she believes at least 12 of the 16 shots fired by officer Jason Van Dyke on Oct. 20, 2014, hit McDonald before the 17-year-old was on the ground. Prosecutors told the jury last week that video shows McDonald hitting the ground less than two seconds after the first shot was fired. Twelve more seconds of gun- fire then follows, they said.

But under questioning by prosecutors, Teas seemed to contradict her own testimony, saying she had no opinion on whether five of the shots hit the teen before he fell. She then stated that she didn’t know how many shots hit McDonald before he fell.

Earlier, Teas had criticized the work of Dr. Ponni Arunkumar, Cook County’s chief medical examiner, who testified last week that it was impossible to determine the exact order of McDonald’s wounds. Teas said she believes a wound in McDonald’s neck was the result of the first or second shot and was fired when he was still standing.

Squad car video shows that Van Dyke opened fire as McDonald veered away from police with a small knife in his hand. Van Dyke’s attorneys have argued that he was afraid for his life and acted according to his training. Prosecutors have stressed that no other officers who encountered McDonald opened fire. Prosecutors rested their case Thursday.

Later Monday, Van Dyke’s attorneys turned to another key component of their strategy, calling witnesses to testify about the teen’s history of violent behavior.

But both witnesses, along with another man who worked in the lockup, acknowledged they never spoke to Van Dyke about McDonald before the shooting — showing that Van Dyke knew nothing about the teen’s past when he shot him.