Chicago officer’s murder trial nears end
CHICAGO — Testimony in the first-degree murder trial of a Chicago police officer in the 2014 shooting of Laquan McDonald concluded Wednesday morning, ending the trial just a day after the officer provided sometimes emotional and sometimes defiant testimony that what he saw did not unfold the way it did on dashboard camera video.
Defense attorneys did not call any witnesses on Wednesday but did put into evidence the squad car tire that McDonald, 17, stabbed with a knife before officer Jason Van Dyke arrived and shot him 16 times.
Prosecutors called one rebuttal witness who testified briefly and read into the record what Van Dyke told Chicago police Detective. David March shortly after the shooting — including a statement that Van Dyke made that McDonald had raised a knife at him and kept pointing at him even after he was shot and fell to the ground. Van Dyke gave similar testimony on Wednesday — contradicting the video that shows no such actions by the teen.
The attorneys are scheduled to give their closing arguments to the jury when they return to court today.
The video shows Van Dyke exit his vehicle and start firing even as McDonald appears to veer away from police. After the bullets start, McDonald spins and falls to the ground. Van Dyke continues firing, shooting a total of 16 shots. About 10 other officers were on the scene, and prosecutors stressed that none of them — including Van Dyke’s partner — opened fire.