Network TodayNetwork Today
    What's Hot

    Germany drops stricter energy savings requirements for houses

    September 26, 2023

    Can the U.S. Make Solar Panels? This Company Thinks So.

    September 26, 2023

    Fossil fuel demand must fall by a quarter by 2030 to limit global warming, IEA says

    September 26, 2023
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms
    • Contact
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Tuesday, September 26
    Network TodayNetwork Today
    • Home
    • News
    • Politics
    • Business
    • Energy
    • Technology
    • Health
    • Lifestyle
    • Sports
    Network TodayNetwork Today
    Home » Chicago Officer Who Killed Laquan McDonald Leaves Prison Early

    Chicago Officer Who Killed Laquan McDonald Leaves Prison Early

    February 3, 20225 Mins Read News
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr WhatsApp Email Reddit
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    CHICAGO — When Jason Van Dyke, a former Chicago police officer, was convicted in 2018 of the murder of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, some Chicagoans saw a promise of justice: Mr. Van Dyke would serve time in prison for shooting the Black teenager 16 times, an act that was captured on a dashboard camera and widely viewed by the public.

    Three years into a nearly seven-year sentence, Mr. Van Dyke, who is white, was released from prison, Illinois corrections officials said on Thursday. Activists in Chicago have greeted the prospect of Mr. Van Dyke’s freedom with outrage and called on federal officials to file civil rights charges against him, saying his prison term has fallen far short of a fair punishment for murder.

    Mr. Van Dyke’s early release came under Illinois rules that give credit to prisoners for good behavior. Activists had long criticized the original sentence — 81 months — as too lenient.

    But the Rev. Marvin Hunter, Mr. McDonald’s great-uncle, who has acted as a family spokesman, said he did not plan to participate in a planned demonstration on Thursday or protest Mr. Van Dyke’s release.

    “Justice, in our eyesight, was getting a conviction,” he said. “It wouldn’t benefit anyone in this country for Jason Van Dyke to go back to jail and get 100 years or 1,000 years.”

    The killing of Mr. McDonald in October 2014 placed a spotlight on police misconduct toward Black Chicagoans, prompted changes to the Police Department — officers now wear body cameras while on duty — and forced its superintendent out of his job. The fallout over the video, which was released to the public 13 months after the killing and only after a judge’s order, was widely seen as a factor in the decision by Rahm Emanuel, then the mayor of Chicago, not to seek a third term.

    Mr. Emanuel, now the United States ambassador to Japan, faced questions about his handling of the case during his confirmation hearing last year.

    As questions about Mr. Van Dyke’s release have grown, Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who was elected in 2019, has defended her record on policing issues while acknowledging the continuing impact of the case. At a news conference this week, she described trying to protect her daughter from seeing the video of the shooting after it was released in 2015.

    “That was a very difficult and fraught time in our city,” Ms. Lightfoot said. “And I think that many people carry the trauma of that moment and others like it with them to this very day.”

    In the aftermath of Mr. McDonald’s murder, before becoming mayor, Ms. Lightfoot led a panel that found a pattern of systemic racism in the Chicago Police Department. She said there had been improvements since then, including in police training and oversight, though she acknowledged that more needed to be done.

    “There has been some change — not enough,” she said. “Not enough by any stretch of the imagination.”

    Mr. Van Dyke, the first Chicago police officer to be convicted in an on-duty murder in almost 50 years, was found guilty of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm, one count for each bullet he fired. Prosecutors requested a sentence of at least 18 years in prison, but Judge Vincent Gaughan sentenced him to less than half of that.

    Judge Gaughan sentenced Mr. Van Dyke only on the murder count; a penalty for the aggravated battery counts could have resulted in a much longer prison term.

    William Calloway, a community organizer who in 2015 pressed for the release of the video of Mr. McDonald’s murder, described the response to the shooting and conviction as a watershed moment for Chicago.

    “We finally held a police officer accountable,” Mr. Calloway said. “The justice system didn’t give him the punishment to match his crime, but a just verdict was rendered for murder, so it gave us a lot of hope to keep fighting.”

    Mr. McDonald was shot after Chicago officers were summoned to the city’s Southwest Side to investigate a report of a person with a knife trying to break into vehicles in a trucking yard. Officers followed Mr. McDonald for several blocks, and at one point requested that an officer with a Taser be sent to the scene. Not long after, Mr. Van Dyke arrived on the scene and opened fire as Mr. McDonald appeared to be veering away from officers.

    Mr. Calloway and other activists and family members — including Mr. McDonald’s grandmother Tracie Hunter — planned to gather on Thursday afternoon outside a federal courthouse in Chicago to reiterate demands for a federal civil rights investigation into Mr. McDonald’s death.

    Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois released a letter to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland on Tuesday, asking him for an update to an investigation that the Justice Department began in 2015. A spokeswoman for the Justice Department declined to comment on the status of the investigation.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

    Related Posts

    Mali junta postpones 2024 election, delaying return to democratic rule

    September 26, 2023

    In a Port City Severed From the Sea, Young Sailors Feel Adrift

    September 26, 2023

    Texas man sentenced after fatally shooting man he believed killed friend, put gun up for sale 21 minutes later

    September 26, 2023

    After Taking Away Critics’ Citizenship, a Country Takes Their Houses

    September 26, 2023

    Poland’s foreign minister accuses Germany of interference over visa allegations

    September 26, 2023

    Florida horse trainer booked for allegedly grooming 13-year-old girl: police

    September 26, 2023
    Trending

    Germany drops stricter energy savings requirements for houses

    September 26, 2023

    Can the U.S. Make Solar Panels? This Company Thinks So.

    September 26, 2023

    Fossil fuel demand must fall by a quarter by 2030 to limit global warming, IEA says

    September 26, 2023

    Mali junta postpones 2024 election, delaying return to democratic rule

    September 26, 2023
    Latest News

    Republican lawmakers introduce bill to allow schools to fund gun safety, archery programs

    September 15, 2023

    Deion Sanders Leaves Jackson State for Colorado

    December 4, 2022

    How tech stocks have dragged down the markets.

    May 20, 2022

    How We Make Sense of Time

    December 31, 2021

    Seeing a Prize, Russia Inundates a Ukraine City With Troops

    February 1, 2023

    Snap unveils a flying camera called Pixy.

    April 28, 2022

    Network Today is one of the biggest English news portal, we provide the latest news from all around the world.

    We're social. Connect with us:

    Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest YouTube
    Recent

    Germany drops stricter energy savings requirements for houses

    September 26, 2023

    Can the U.S. Make Solar Panels? This Company Thinks So.

    September 26, 2023

    Fossil fuel demand must fall by a quarter by 2030 to limit global warming, IEA says

    September 26, 2023
    Featured

    Champions League Updates: Real Madrid vs. Manchester City

    May 4, 2022

    Family of Houston man shot dead and burned still searching for answers

    August 23, 2022

    Ohio police officer dodges out-of-control truck on icy road before it slams into cruiser

    December 29, 2022
    Copyright ©️ All rights reserved | Network Today
    • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms
    • Contact

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.