NATION & WORLD CHICAGO POLICE OFFICER GUILTY

A white officer is convicted of seconddegree murder in the death of a black teen, whose death was captured on a dashcam video.

Highprofile case gripped nation’s thirdlargest city for nearly three years

CHICAGO» A white Chicago police officer was convicted of seconddegree murder Friday in the 2014 shooting of a black teenager that was captured on shocking dashcam video that showed the teenager crumpling to the ground in a hail of 16 bullets as he walked away from officers.

The video, some of the most graphic police footage to emerge in years, stoked outrage nationwide, and the highstakes case gripped the nation’s thirdlargest city for nearly three years. The shooting also led to a federal government inquiry and calls to reform the Chicago Police Department.

Jason Van Dyke was the first Chicago cop to be charged with murder for an onduty shooting in 50 years. He was taken into custody Friday moments after the verdict was read.

The seconddegree verdict reflected the jury’s finding that Van Dyke, 40, believed his life was in danger but that the belief was unreasonable. The jury also had the option of first degreemurder, a charge that required a finding that the shooting was unnecessary and unreasonable.

Seconddegree murder usually carries a sentence of less than 20 years in prison, 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 — and acquitted of official misconduct.

The teenager, Laquan McDonald, was carrying a knife when Van Dyke fired at him on a dimly lit street where he was surrounded by other police officers.

One of Chicago’s leading civil rights attorneys said the conviction sends a message to minority communities that the police reforms that began after the video became public were not just for show.

Andrew Stroth said an acquittal would have sent the opposite message, dashing hopes for change. “I think Chicago would have erupted,” he said.

Defense attorney Dan Herbert called Van Dyke “a sacrificial lamb” offered by political and community leaders “to save themselves.”

Herbert said it was a “sad day for law enforcement” because the verdict tells officers they can’t do their jobs. “Police officers are going to become security guards,” he said.

The verdict was the latest chapter in a story that accelerated soon after a judge ordered the release of the video in November 2015. The case put the city at the center of the national conversation about police misconduct and excessive force.

The 12person jury included just one AfricanAmerican member, although blacks make up onethird of Chicago’s population. The jury also had seven whites, three Hispanics and one AsianAmerican.