CHICAGO OFFICER SENTENCED
CHICAGO — The white Chicago officer who gunned down a black teenager in 2014 was sentenced Friday to nearly seven years in prison, ending an explosive case that was centered on a graphic dashcam video and added fuel to debates about race and policing and law enforcement’s “code of silence.”
Jason Van Dyke was convicted last year of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery — one for each bullet fired at Laquan McDonald. He barely moved upon learning the sentence.
Moments earlier, Van Dyke acknowledged the teen’s death, telling the judge that “as a God-fearing man and father, I will have to live with this the rest of my life.”
The sentence was less than half of the penalty that had been sought by prosecutors, who asked for 18 to 20 years. But it went far beyond the request of defense attorneys, who argued that Van Dyke could be released on probation. The prison term was also a fraction of what Van Dyke could have faced had he been convicted of first-degree murder, which carried a mandatory minimum of 45 years in prison.
Attorneys on both sides agreed that if he behaves in prison, Van Dyke could be released in less than 3½ years.
The lead defense attorney, Dan Herbert, said Van Dyke “truly felt great” after the sentencing. “He was happy about the prospect of life ahead of him” and someday being reunited with his wife and two daughters.
The prosecutor who oversaw the case said he can live with the sentence.
“Our goal was to find the truth, present the truth and ask for justice . ... It was not revenge,” special prosecutor Joseph McMahon said.
Judge Vincent Gaughan’s decision to deem the second-degree murder conviction the most serious crime — siding with the defense on that question — may also have spared Van Dyke a far longer term behind bars.
Had Judge Gaughan sentenced Van Dyke on the 16 counts of aggravated battery, as prosecutors asked him to do, he could have faced decades in prison. Each aggravated battery count carried a mandatory minimum of six years, and the judge could have ordered those sentences to be served one after the other.
After the judge’s announcement, Van Dyke’s father said, “They threw him underneath the bridge.” His older daughter began crying and said, “I want him home.”
The case triggered large street demonstrations when the video emerged, and authorities prepared for potential unrest in October, when the verdict came out. But there were no sign of protests following the sentence.
Activist William Calloway called the sentence “a slap in the face to us and a slap on the wrist” for Van Dyke.
Friday’s testimony came a day after a different judge acquitted three officers accused of lying about the shooting to protect Van Dyke.