Jason Van Dyke, the white Chicago police officer who shot a black teen 16 times in an encounter, has been found guilty of second-degree murder. The politically-charged case had set Chicago on its edge as the 17-year-old's death became emblematic of decades of police abuse in the city. The death was one in a series of fatal encounters in recent years between the US police and the African American community who formed the Black Lives Matter Movement in response.
Laquan McDonald was shot 16 times in 2014. The encounter was captured on a dashcam video which showed McDonald walking away from the officers when Van Dyke begins firing his gun. He continues to shoot McDonald after he falls to the ground.
The video was released in 2015, a year after the incident, and only after city officials were forced to do so by a judge. The footage outraged many in the Midwestern city, and led to months of protests and political upheaval. Van Dyke was not charged until the day the video was released in 2015. Protesters demonstrated for months, alleging a cover-up and demanding resignations. Chicago's then-police chief and top prosecutor both lost their jobs.
At the trial which opened on September 17, defense lawyers argued that the video does not show Van Dyke's perspective.
Taking the stand in his own defense on Tuesday, the 40-year-old testified that he began shooting McDonald because he raised his knife and "never stopped" advancing towards the officer.
"His face had no expression. His eyes were just bugging out of his head. He had these huge white eyes just staring right through me," the officer said.
"I was yelling at him to drop the knife," Van Dyke said, at times appearing to wipe away tears. "He got probably about 10 or 15 feet (three or four meters) away from me." Van Dyke said he fired a second round of bullets because the teen was still clutching his knife while on the ground and appeared to be trying to get up.
"I just kept on looking at the knife and I shot at it. I just wanted him to get rid of the knife," Van Dyke said. None of the other nine officers at the scene fired their weapons.
Prosecutors said the video—recorded at night from some distance and pointing at the teen's back—did not capture McDonald raising his knife or trying to get up.
The 12-person jury reached a verdict just one day after beginning deliberations, choosing to convict him of a lesser second-degree charge, instead of first-degree murder. He was also convicted of 16 counts of aggravated battery, and acquitted of one count of official misconduct.
The city was braced for protests as police officers were put on 12-hour shifts to bolster available numbers by up to 4,000.
