Jury in murder trial of Chicago policeman to begin second day of deliberations

[October 05, 2018]  By Suzannah Gonzales

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A second day of deliberations will begin on Friday in the murder trial of a white Chicago police officer who killed a black teenager in 2014 in a hail of bullets, a case that has put the city's large African-American community on edge.

The trial of Jason Van Dyke, who is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery and official misconduct, has become the latest focus of a long national debate over the use of police force against minorities. The shooting is one of a series of high-profile killings of black men by white officers.

Van Dyke fired 16 shots in all, killing 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, who was holding a knife. None of the other officers on the scene fired their weapons.

A video of the incident, which was released more than a year after the shooting, sparked days of protests, led to the dismissal of the city's police superintendent and prompted sharp criticism of Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Emanuel later announced he would not seek a third term.

Van Dyke, 40, who could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted, is the first Chicago police officer to face a murder charge for an on-duty incident in decades.

The jury's decision will likely turn on whether they believe Van Dyke's testimony that he reasonably feared for his safety at the time.

Prosecutors have argued that the video shows Van Dyke used unnecessary and excessive force, including firing shots after McDonald had fallen to the ground. McDonald, they said, was not moving toward Van Dyke at the time of the shooting.

Police Officer Jason Van Dyke flanked by his attorneys Tammy Wendt and Elizabeth Fleming listen to closing statements at his trial for the shooting death of Laquan McDonald at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., October 4, 2018. Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/Pool via REUTERS

"There's no justification for shooting Laquan McDonald that night," prosecutor Jody Gleason said in her closing argument on Thursday. "Not one shot. Not the first shot. Not the sixteenth shot."

But Van Dyke, who testified in his own defense, tearfully told jurors that he felt threatened and that the video, which was taken from the side, did not show the scene from his perspective. Daniel Herbert, a defense lawyer, told jurors the case was "a tragedy, but not a murder," and said McDonald would still be alive had he simply dropped the knife.

The 12-person jury, which includes one black member, began deliberating on Thursday afternoon after 2-1/2 weeks of testimony. Jurors are permitted to consider a lesser charge of second-degree murder as an alternative.

(Reporting by Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago; Writing by Joseph Ax in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

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