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| 'We've got to break this cycle': calls for justice as verdict looms in Laquan McDonald killing | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Four years ago this month, the white Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke shot the black teenager Laquan McDonald 16 times in a largely deserted trucking yard where the teen had allegedly been breaking into vehicles, armed with a 3in knife. | Four years ago this month, the white Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke shot the black teenager Laquan McDonald 16 times in a largely deserted trucking yard where the teen had allegedly been breaking into vehicles, armed with a 3in knife. |
| The fatal shooting as the teen appeared to walk away was captured on police dashcam video, and its release a year later proved a watershed moment in a city with long-fraught race relations. | The fatal shooting as the teen appeared to walk away was captured on police dashcam video, and its release a year later proved a watershed moment in a city with long-fraught race relations. |
| On Thursday the prosecution makes closing arguments in the murder trial of Van Dyke, which has riveted the city for more than three weeks. The Rev Jesse Jackson, who has attended much of the trial, called McDonald’s death a “legal lynching” and a symbol of systemic police violence against black men in the city. | |
| Van Dyke, 40, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, 16 counts of aggravated battery, and one count of official misconduct. The defense is arguing that Van Dyke’s use of force was justified. Now a jury of 12, including just one black member, will deliberate. | Van Dyke, 40, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, 16 counts of aggravated battery, and one count of official misconduct. The defense is arguing that Van Dyke’s use of force was justified. Now a jury of 12, including just one black member, will deliberate. |
| Throughout the trial, Van Dyke’s attorneys have tried to paint the 6ft 2in McDonald as a violent menace, emphasizing the drug PCP he had in his system the night he died and previous encounters in which people felt endangered or threatened by him. The court heard testimony from a juvenile detention facility where McDonald had been housed and from a trucker who said McDonald tried to stab him that same night. | Throughout the trial, Van Dyke’s attorneys have tried to paint the 6ft 2in McDonald as a violent menace, emphasizing the drug PCP he had in his system the night he died and previous encounters in which people felt endangered or threatened by him. The court heard testimony from a juvenile detention facility where McDonald had been housed and from a trucker who said McDonald tried to stab him that same night. |
| The prosecution argued that Van Dyke had no way of knowing such information at the time he shot McDonald, and highlighted statements Van Dyke made on his way to the scene after hearing reports that McDonald had popped a squad car’s tire, including: “Why don’t they shoot him if he’s attacking them?” | The prosecution argued that Van Dyke had no way of knowing such information at the time he shot McDonald, and highlighted statements Van Dyke made on his way to the scene after hearing reports that McDonald had popped a squad car’s tire, including: “Why don’t they shoot him if he’s attacking them?” |
| Still a block and a half from the scene, he said to his partner, “Oh my God, we’re going to have to shoot the guy,” according to the testimony. | |
| During his testimony on Tuesday, Van Dyke cried as he described shooting McDonald after feeling he and other officers were in danger. | During his testimony on Tuesday, Van Dyke cried as he described shooting McDonald after feeling he and other officers were in danger. |
| “His face had no expression. His eyes were just bugging out of his head. He had just these huge white eyes, just staring right through me,” Van Dyke testified. | “His face had no expression. His eyes were just bugging out of his head. He had just these huge white eyes, just staring right through me,” Van Dyke testified. |
| He said he was fixated on the teen’s knife and was trying to shoot at it – emptying his gun and then reloading. He said he felt officers were no longer threatened by McDonald once he reloaded, because “he, um, he had stopped moving”. | He said he was fixated on the teen’s knife and was trying to shoot at it – emptying his gun and then reloading. He said he felt officers were no longer threatened by McDonald once he reloaded, because “he, um, he had stopped moving”. |
| In a press conference outside the trial, Jackson described the shooting as involving “premeditation”. | In a press conference outside the trial, Jackson described the shooting as involving “premeditation”. |
| “He was not remorseful,” Jackson said of Van Dyke. “He was not contrite.” | “He was not remorseful,” Jackson said of Van Dyke. “He was not contrite.” |
| Citizens filed 20 complaints alleging unjust use of force by Van Dyke between 2005 and 2014, according to the Citizens Police Data Project. Only one of the complaints was sustained upon investigation, according to the project’s analysis of records from the department, which has long been criticized for a lack of accountability. | Citizens filed 20 complaints alleging unjust use of force by Van Dyke between 2005 and 2014, according to the Citizens Police Data Project. Only one of the complaints was sustained upon investigation, according to the project’s analysis of records from the department, which has long been criticized for a lack of accountability. |
| McDonald – whom Van Dyke repeatedly described during the trial as “a male black with black hoodie and blue jeans” – grew up on the city’s west side, bouncing between relatives’ homes and state facilities. He was the child of a 15-year-old mother who struggled with drug addiction and a father who was largely absent and in prison. He had multiple diagnoses of mental illness and had been arrested 26 times in the three years before his death, according to the Chicago Tribune. He was reportedly making strides in the months before he was killed, working with a mentor, attending an alternative school and learning job skills. | McDonald – whom Van Dyke repeatedly described during the trial as “a male black with black hoodie and blue jeans” – grew up on the city’s west side, bouncing between relatives’ homes and state facilities. He was the child of a 15-year-old mother who struggled with drug addiction and a father who was largely absent and in prison. He had multiple diagnoses of mental illness and had been arrested 26 times in the three years before his death, according to the Chicago Tribune. He was reportedly making strides in the months before he was killed, working with a mentor, attending an alternative school and learning job skills. |
| Jackson and others said that while a guilty verdict would offer a measure of justice, the city needed to address deeper patterns of police misconduct and racism. | Jackson and others said that while a guilty verdict would offer a measure of justice, the city needed to address deeper patterns of police misconduct and racism. |
| During the trial came news of the death of Jon Burge, a former Chicago police commander implicated in the torture of more than 100 black men. Decades after the systemic torture allegedly started, Burge was convicted and imprisoned on federal charges related to lying about it and obstructing justice. Despite significant publicity around Burge, many have pointed to McDonald’s death as evidence that the police department has failed to address its problems with racism. | During the trial came news of the death of Jon Burge, a former Chicago police commander implicated in the torture of more than 100 black men. Decades after the systemic torture allegedly started, Burge was convicted and imprisoned on federal charges related to lying about it and obstructing justice. Despite significant publicity around Burge, many have pointed to McDonald’s death as evidence that the police department has failed to address its problems with racism. |
| After the release of the dashcam video showing McDonald’s death, the city overhauled its police accountability and investigation system. | After the release of the dashcam video showing McDonald’s death, the city overhauled its police accountability and investigation system. |
| The new organization was headed by Lori Lightfoot, who is running for mayor in the city’s February 2019 election. Mayor Rahm Emanuel, whose administration was lambasted for quietly settling with McDonald’s family and ensuring the video would not be released before the 2015 election, announced on the eve of the trial that he would not seek re-election. Garry McCarthy, the police superintendent when McDonald was killed, is also now running for mayor. | The new organization was headed by Lori Lightfoot, who is running for mayor in the city’s February 2019 election. Mayor Rahm Emanuel, whose administration was lambasted for quietly settling with McDonald’s family and ensuring the video would not be released before the 2015 election, announced on the eve of the trial that he would not seek re-election. Garry McCarthy, the police superintendent when McDonald was killed, is also now running for mayor. |
| Religious leaders and activists with Black Lives Matter and other groups have called for peace regardless of the verdict. McDonald’s great-uncle Marvin Hunter, who has attended much of the trial, asked people to channel their energy into the polls rather than into anger. | Religious leaders and activists with Black Lives Matter and other groups have called for peace regardless of the verdict. McDonald’s great-uncle Marvin Hunter, who has attended much of the trial, asked people to channel their energy into the polls rather than into anger. |
| At a vigil outside the courthouse in the early days of the trial, attendees cited prominent black leaders and citizens from previous generations, including Emmett Till, the Chicago teen murdered after a white woman claimed he flirted with her, and Fred Hampton, the Black Panther party founder killed by Chicago police. | At a vigil outside the courthouse in the early days of the trial, attendees cited prominent black leaders and citizens from previous generations, including Emmett Till, the Chicago teen murdered after a white woman claimed he flirted with her, and Fred Hampton, the Black Panther party founder killed by Chicago police. |
| Jackson and others said they hoped McDonald’s killing would continue to drive change in the city. “We need mass action to show mass displeasure,” Jackson said. | Jackson and others said they hoped McDonald’s killing would continue to drive change in the city. “We need mass action to show mass displeasure,” Jackson said. |
| The Rev Michael Pfleger, a prominent priest who organized an anti-violence march shutting down a major expressway this summer, called for Chicagoans to boycott school, work and shopping if Van Dyke was not convicted. Others urged people to immediately convene at City Hall in case of a not-guilty verdict. | The Rev Michael Pfleger, a prominent priest who organized an anti-violence march shutting down a major expressway this summer, called for Chicagoans to boycott school, work and shopping if Van Dyke was not convicted. Others urged people to immediately convene at City Hall in case of a not-guilty verdict. |
| “We feel like this is a historic case and we have to have a conviction in this case because we’ve got to break this cycle,” said Frank Chapman, a longtime activist with the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. “There’s not gonna be no business as usual in Chicago if they don’t convict this guy.” | “We feel like this is a historic case and we have to have a conviction in this case because we’ve got to break this cycle,” said Frank Chapman, a longtime activist with the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. “There’s not gonna be no business as usual in Chicago if they don’t convict this guy.” |
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