CHICAGO—The Latest on the sentencing of the Chicago police officer who fired the shots that killed black teenager…
CHICAGO—The Latest on the sentencing of the Chicago police officer who fired the shots that killed black teenager Laquan McDonald (all times local):
5:30 p.m.
A judge has sentenced former Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke to nearly seven years in prison in the 2014 shooting death of black teenager Laquan McDonald.
Judge Vincent Gaughan’s sentence of six years and nine months in prison Jan. 18 came a day after another judge acquitted three other officers of trying to cover up the shooting to protect Van Dyke.
Van Dyke shot McDonald 16 times, including after the 17-year-old was on the ground and barely moving. A jury convicted him in October of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery—one for each shot.
The case went largely unnoticed until the city was forced to release police dashcam video 13 months after it happened. The video sparked large protests and led to the ouster of Chicago’s top police official and some department reforms.
The 40-year-old Van Dyke is believed to be the first Chicago officer convicted in a fatal on-duty shooting of an African-American.
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5:15 p.m.
Former Chicago police office Jason Van Dyke has told the judge who will sentence him that “The last thing I wanted to do was shoot Laquan McDonald”
Van Dyke spoke briefly Jan. 18 after more than a dozen character witnesses testified and after his attorneys and prosecutors summed up their cases.
The former officer didn’t testify before a jury convicted him in October of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery — one for each time he shot the black teenager.
Van Dyke said Jan. 18 that he has “prayed daily for the soul of Laquan McDonald.”
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5 p.m.
The prosecutor in the trial of former Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke says a sentence of between 18 and 20 years would be appropriate for the killing of black teenager Laquan McDonald.
Special Prosecutor Joseph McMahon said Jan. 18 while summing up the state’s case that Van Dyke’s 2014 shooting of the 17-year-old has been “devastating” not just for Chicago but for the entire nation because it has further deepened the public’s distrust in the police.
A jury convicted Van Dyke of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery — one for each time the officer shot McDonald.
Defense attorney Darren O’Brien asked the judge to sentence Van Dyke to probation. He said the murder charge allows for probation and that this case “screams out” for such a sentence.
___4:45 p.m.
Attorneys are about to make their closing statements at the sentencing hearing for former Chicago police officer Jason McDonald in the 2014 killing of black teenager Laquan McDonald.
Prosecutors and defense lawyers called more than a dozen character witnesses during Jan. 18’s hearing, including McDonald’s great-uncle and Van Dyke’s wife and 17-year-old daughter.
Among the witnesses called by prosecutors were several black men who recounted run-ins with Van Dyke during traffic stops.
The former officer’s family members said he’s a good father and husband who isn’t hate-filled or racist.
Van Dyke was convicted of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery — one for each time he shot McDonald.
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4:20 p.m.
Jason Van Dyke’s wife says her life has been “a nightmare” and has been turned upside down since the former Chicago police officer’s murder conviction in the 2014 fatal shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald.
Tiffany Van Dyke said Jan. 18 at her husband’s sentencing hearing that he is her “everything,” her “other half” and her “heart.”
She echoed other family members who testified that her husband isn’t racist or full of hatred.
Fighting through tears, she said her two daughters don’t eat or sleep and get bullied at school by kids who tell them “their father is a murderer.”
Jason Van Dyke wiped his nose and eyes with a tissue as his wife testified.
