After the Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke was found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Laquan McDonald, Chicagoans told us what the verdict means for them and their city.
A jury found Jason Van Dyke, the Chicago police officer who shot and killed Laquan McDonald, a black teenager, guilty of second-degree murder on Friday. The verdict came three years after the release of a dashboard-camera video that shows Officer Van Dyke firing 16 shots at Laquan.
We asked Chicagoans what the verdict means for them personally and for their city. More than 150 people responded in the hours after the jury announced its decision. Here are some of their answers, which have been condensed and edited for clarity.
As a brown person living in Chicago, I am relieved to hear this verdict. The increased police presence in my neighborhood has been making everyone tense, and I am glad that riots and protests will not happen now thanks to the verdict.
It is about time that justice is served and people are held accountable for their actions. It only takes one bullet to disable someone who’s dangerous. Anyone who shoots someone 16 times is a murderer.
The police department and local government are ready to serve the people and not themselves.
— Elan Simon, Logan Square
Chicago is a city that learns from mistakes. People knew of the injustices of other police shootings here.
This time, the officer counted on people’s prejudices. He was wrong.
— Tiffany Lyons, South Shore
Although there are many cases of police shootings, each one is unique.
In recent years I think the United States has seen a spectrum of cases, from ones where a hard-working, honest police officer’s life was ruined by someone threatening it to others where officers have killed because of incompetence, racial animosity, an us-versus-them mentality or a combination thereof.
This case begged for a conviction, and I think it correctly got one.
— John Lubeck, Livermore
The verdict is a relief in a city where race already divides most residents by geography and disparities in everyday life.
I hope the verdict will help tilt the scales toward greater recognition of entrenched institutional racism against African-Americans in Chicago — and throughout the United States — and be one small step toward rectifying injustice.
I hope, as a white woman, that the verdict is truly a turning point in the culture and governance of our city — and country. I think it says that the majority of people of all races will no longer tolerate the ways that government institutions in Chicago have been insulated from scrutiny and accountability.
— Aaron Rose, Edgewater
I am a lifelong Chicago resident, having grown up just a few blocks from where the shooting took place. I am also a victim of excessive force by the Chicago Police Department.
This conviction is a major turning point in the fight to end discrimination against the black community here and around the country and world. It also gives me a sense of personal justice as a victim.
Today is a momentous day for me and the city I cherish. Chicago is moving toward becoming more integrated racially and economically. We are fighting to end corruption, and we are winning!
— Jillian Musielak, Pilsen
This is the beginning of a long process of legal and political reform that will hopefully, one day, value all life — regardless of class, race, gender, sexual orientation or color.
— Larry, Lakeview
There is hope for a better police force, but there are still too many holdouts. The police union’s continued stand is shameful.
— Wayne Larsen, Darien Illinois
Officer Van Dyke should have been convicted of first-degree murder because he was not close enough to Laquan to fear for his life. These officers kill me by saying they fear for their lives.
It’s about time that an officer who killed a young black man was convicted.
— Tiombe Gibson, Westville
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