Officer Jason Van Dyke found guilty of second-degree murder in Laquan McDonald killing.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/05/us/jason-van-dyke-laquan-mcdonald-verdict/index.html
A jury has found Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke guilty of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald in 2014. Van Dyke, who was also found guilty of 16 counts of aggravated battery, sat impassively, with his shoulders slumped, as the verdicts were read Friday. Van Dyke was found not guilty of official misconduct.
[Previous story, posted at 2:50 p.m. ET]
The jury has reached a verdict in the murder trial of Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke, who is charged with killing 17-year-old Laquan McDonald in 2014.
The verdict is expected to be read at about 1:45 p.m. CT (2:45p ET) Friday.
Van Dyke faces two counts of first-degree murder, 16 counts of aggravated battery and one count of official misconduct. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.
Jurors were instructed Thursday that they also could consider second-degree murder.
Chicago police, activists and businesses prepare for verdict in officer's trial in Laquan McDonald killing
The panel of eight women and four men -- seven of them white, one black, three Hispanic and one Asian -- began deliberations Thursday afternoon.
Van Dyke is the first Chicago police officer to be charged with first-degree murder since 1980.
Video of the shooting led protests, a Justice Department civil rights investigation, criticism of the city's mayor and eventually the ouster of the police superintendent.
The city has been preparing or possible demonstrations in a high-profile case that already sparked protests.
"The Chicago Police Department has a comprehensive operating plan to ensure public safety in all of our neighborhoods while simultaneously protecting the rights of peaceful demonstrations," police said.
What jurors heard in closing arguments
Before Judge Vincent Gaughan dismissed them for the day Thursday evening, jurors requested a transcript of testimony from former Officer Joseph Walsh, Van Dyke's partner the night of McDonald's death.
In closing arguments, a prosecutor claimed Van Dyke showed no regard for the life of the black teenager while the defense portrayed him as a police veteran ensnared in a tragedy but not a murder.
Assistant special prosecutor Jody Gleason told the jury that Van Dyke contemplated shooting McDonald before he even encountered the young man on the street
What we learned from Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke's testimony
"You heard what it was that he said, 'I guess we'll have to shoot him,'" Gleason said, referring to testimony about what Van Dyke told his partner before arriving at the scene.
"It wasn't the knife in Laquan's hand that made the defendant kill him that night. It was his indifference to the value of Laquan's life."
When Van Dyke took the stand Tuesday, Gleason asked about a statement he made to his partner as they approached the shooting scene:"Oh my God, we're going to have to shoot the guy."
"I thought the officers were under attack," Van Dyke said.
Gleason told the jury Thursday, "We know the defendant contemplated the decision to shoot Laquan before he even got out of his vehicle. ... And he never adjusted that mindset."
Defense attorney Daniel Herbert, in his closing, sought to discount a piece of evidence at the center of the case: video of the shooting.
"We have to look at this from Jason Van Dyke's perspective," he said.
He added, "The state wants to watch the last two minutes of this movie without knowing the context."
Herbert said there was no question the case is tragic but it did not amount to murder.
"It's a tragedy that could have been prevented with one simple step," he said. "At any step during that 20-minute rampage -- if Laquan McDonald had dropped that knife -- he would have been here today."
Van Dyke told the jury Tuesday that McDonald's face was expressionless -- "his eyes were just bugging out of his head" -- as the teenager kept "advancing" on him, holding a knife.
Standing about 10 to 15 feet away, McDonald "turned his torso towards me," the officer testified.
"He waved the knife from his lower right side, upwards, across his body, towards my left shoulder," the officer said, appearing to get choked up as he demonstrated the action to jurors.
The officer told jurors he then shot McDonald.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/05/us/jason-van-dyke-laquan-mcdonald-verdict/index.html
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