Activists and residents of Chicago chanted “Justice for Laquan” after a jury on Friday found a white police officer, Jason Van Dyke, guilty of second-degree murder for fatally shooting 17-year-old African-American Laquan McDonald 16 times on the evening of Oct. 20, 2014.
The Cook County jury also found Van Dyke guilty of all 16 counts of aggravated battery while finding him not guilty of official misconduct. Each aggravated battery count carries a sentence of six to 30 years, which he may be required to serve consecutively. As Van Dyke awaits sentencing, the jury’s decision was praised by local activists working to eradicate police brutality.
“It feels like a victory for Black Chicago,” community organizer Jedidiah Brown told reporters at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse shortly after the verdicts were read, according to the Chicago Tribune.
“This is the best moment as a Chicagoan that I’ve ever experienced in my life. This is my best experience as a Black man, as a Chicagoan, as an Illinoisan, and as a man in the United States of America. We never get justice,” Brown continued. “Today we got justice… Today, it looks like a new day in America.”
Too often, police officers have been acquitted for their role in the deaths of Black Americans. This has been especially true in Chicago, where officer Van Dyke was the first officer to face murder charges in more than 30 years, despite CPD’s [Chicago Police Department] long record of abuse and misconduct,” noted Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel at the NAACP.
“We hope that this verdict sends a clear message that police officers can no longer act with impunity against Black…