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Chicago: Officer Jason Van Dyke Guilty of Murdering Laquan McDonald

HeadlineOct 08, 2018

In Chicago, a jury on Friday found white police officer Jason Van Dyke guilty of second-degree murder for killing African-American teenager Laquan McDonald in 2014. Van Dyke was also found guilty on 16 counts of aggravated battery—one count for each of the 16 bullets he fired at McDonald. A key piece of evidence for prosecutors was a police dash cam video showing McDonald posed no threat and walked away from officers before Van Dyke fired at him, emptying an entire magazine from his handgun. Jason Van Dyke was the first Chicago cop to stand trial for an on-duty murder in 50 years.

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