Chicago police killing of black teen was
unjustifiable: prosecutor
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[October 05, 2018]
By Suzannah Gonzales
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The white Chicago
policeman who shot a black teen 16 times in 2014 committed an act of
unjustifiable murder, a prosecutor told jurors on Thursday, while the
defense argued that the officer had seen the youngster carrying a knife
and feared for his safety.
The trial has intensified a debate on race relations and police use of
force in the third-largest U.S. city.
Jason Van Dyke, 40, is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated
battery and official misconduct. He is the first Chicago police officer
to face a murder charge for an on-duty incident in decades and could be
sentenced to life in prison if convicted.
Following the closing arguments, the jury deliberated for several hours
on Thursday afternoon. They will be sequestered at a hotel and will
resume deliberating on Friday morning. Jurors are permitted to consider
a lesser charge of second-degree murder as an alternative.

The release of a video in 2015 that showed 17-year-old Laquan McDonald's
shooting sparked days of protest in Chicago, part of a wave of
high-profile police killings of black men that has prompted a national
conversation about race and policing.
The case will largely turn on whether jurors believe Van Dyke reasonably
feared for his safety when he shot McDonald.
Prosecutor Jody Gleason told jurors on Thursday that an officer can only
use deadly force "when it's reasonable and necessary," a standard that
she said Van Dyke had fallen short of meeting.
"This case has been about exaggerating the threat and trying to hide
behind the police shield," Gleason said. "Why? Because there's no
justification for shooting Laquan McDonald that night. Not one shot. Not
the first shot. Not the 16th shot."
Prosecutors say the video, taken from a dashboard camera and repeatedly
shown to the jury, shows McDonald was not moving toward Van Dyke when he
began firing and that he continued to shoot after McDonald fell to the
ground.
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Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke watches the prosecution's
closing statements during 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

But Van Dyke's attorney Daniel Herbert argued that the video did not
show the scene from Van Dyke's perspective. Van Dyke, he said,
arrived as the "threat level" was rising and had been trained to
continue shooting until the threat had ended.
"It's a tragedy, but not a murder," Herbert said. "And it's a
tragedy that could have been prevented with one simple step. At any
point throughout that 20-some-minute rampage, had Laquan McDonald
dropped that knife, he'd be here today."
Van Dyke took the witness stand in his own defense on Tuesday,
telling jurors he felt threatened because McDonald was advancing
toward him at the time he began firing.
The officer said the dashboard camera video, which was taken from
the side, does not show what occurred from his point of view.
Van Dyke's lawyers have portrayed McDonald as an out-of-control,
dangerous criminal who was under the influence of a drug.
The trial is now in its third week. The 12-person jury includes one
black member.
(Reporting by Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago; editing by Leslie Adler
and Rosalba O'Brien)
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