Editing Jason Van Dyke

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'''Jason Van Dyke''' is a former American police officer who was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison in 2018 for the fatal shooting of African-American teenager Laquan McDonald.

==Biography==
Van Dyke joined the Chicago police department in 2000. Throughout his fourteen-year career, Van Dyke had around 20 complaints filed against him, including 10 for [[police brutality]] and one for using a racial slur; however none of these complaints resulted in action.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20210210090028/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/11/18/us/chicago-police-complaints.html Complaints Against Police Officer Jason Van Dyke], ''The New York Times''</ref>

===Laquan McDonald shooting===
At 10:00 pm on 20 October 2014, Van Dyke was one of the officers deployed to investigate reports that 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was walking around with a knife and breaking into vehicles. When officers confronted McDonald, he slashed the tire of a police car before attempting to walk away. Van Dyke responded by shooting McDonald, who was facing away from him, in the back. As McDonald lay on the ground Van Dyke shot him 15 more times.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34917287 Laquan McDonald: How a Chicago teenager was shot dead by police], ''BBC News''</ref> McDonald was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

===Investigation===
McDonald's death was initially ruled a justified shooting due to the police report falsely stating that McDonald lunged towards the officers before being shot just once by Van Dyke.<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/chicago-laquan-mcdonald-video_565603e0e4b079b2818a06f6 Chicago Police Really Didn't Want To Release Video Of A Cop Shooting Laquan McDonald 16 Times], ''The Huffington Post''</ref> However, the death was later ruled a homicide after McDonald's autopsy determined that he was shot 16 times.<ref>[http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-feds-probe-police-shooting-met-20150413-story.html FBI investigating death of teen shot 16 times by Chicago cop], ''Chicago Tribune''</ref>

The investigation into McDonald's shooting was stalled considerably by multiple factors, including dashcam footage of the incident being concealed by the police<ref>[https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20160127/archer-heights/whats-behind-no-sound-syndrome-on-chicago-police-dashcams Chicago Police Hid Mics, Destroyed Dashcams To Block Audio, Records Show], ''DNAinfo Chicago''</ref> and CCTV footage from a nearby Burger King mysteriously disappearing.<ref>[http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/burger-king-manager-believes-cops-wiped-laquan-mcdonald-vide-article-1.2448811 Burger King manager believes Chicago cops deleted surveillance footage after Laquan McDonald shooting], ''NY Daily News''</ref> A court eventually ordered the police to release the footage on 24 November 2015, thirteen months later. The footage clearly showed Van Dyke shooting McDonald once in the back and then 15 more times while he lay prone on the ground. The same day, Van Dyke was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/24/us/chicago-laquan-mcdonald-shooting-video/ Laquan McDonald video: Shot teen spins, falls to ground], ''CNN''</ref>

Van Dyke's trial began on 17 September 2017 after protracted legal arguments. He was ultimately convicted of second-degree rather than first-degree murder on 5 October 2018 and received a sentence of 6.5 years in prison.<ref>[https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/eric-zorn/ct-perspec-zorn-van-dyke-raoul-sentence-gaughan-0127-20190125-story.html Van Dyke's Controversial 'nearly seven year' sentence explained], ''Chicago Tribune''</ref> He was released from prison on February 17, 2022, having served a little over three years.<ref>[https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/criminal-justice/ct-jason-van-dyke-release-from-prison-laquan-mcdonald-20220203-vphqis7atzgrpb7s3jax6bsvxi-story.html Ex-Chicago Cop Jason Van Dyke Has Been Released from Custody after Serving 3 1/4 Years for the Murder of Laquan McDonald], ''Chicago Tribune''</ref>

==References==
[[Category:List]]
[[Category:United States of America]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Modern Villains]]
[[Category:Living Villains]]
[[Category:Murderer]]
[[Category:Imprisoned]]
[[Category:Corrupt Officials]]
[[Category:Xenophobes]]
[[Category:Brutes]]
[[Category:Liars]]