Chicago Officer Charged With First Degree Murder

[Gauthier]

Taking a page from Bob McCullough's playbook, deliberately throwing a case to get one of their own off the hook. By charging the asshole with Murder 1, they're guaranteeing that sufficient standards will not be met (with coverups, leaks and destruction of evidence if needs be) and so a jury will fail to convict.

Or they think they have a case for murder 1.

It would be great if they did, but I'm not holding my breath.

[Ifreann]

Or they think they have a case for murder 1.

It would be great if they did, but I'm not holding my breath.

Probably a good plan.

[Napkiraly]

Taking a page from Bob McCullough's playbook, deliberately throwing a case to get one of their own off the hook. By charging the asshole with Murder 1, they're guaranteeing that sufficient standards will not be met (with coverups, leaks and destruction of evidence if needs be) and so a jury will fail to convict.

Or they think they have a case for murder 1.

I sure hope so. If this gets cocked up, I can't imagine the backlash.

[Ifreann]

Or they think they have a case for murder 1.

I sure hope so. If this gets cocked up, I can't imagine the backlash.

Riots would be a fair guess.

[Cetacea]

Chicago police is corrupt as fuck it seems. I mean, it's Chicago police, right?

All crap aside, he has no right to just shoot somebody suspicious without freaking investigation, detaining and all that stuff. But no, just shoot 'em and you'll be fine.

They're not really anymore corrupt than the NYPD, or the LAPD. Big city cops tend to be corrupt as a general rule.

it would seem to me that if Police across the US tend to be corrupt as a rule then it really is time for all those pro-gun armed citizens to take up arms against the corrupt officers of the state.

either that or do some kind of major overhaul of US culture

[Liberty and Linguistics]

Christ.

Here's to hoping that Chicago doesn't riot. On that note, why is it first degree murder? Wasn't there some basis as to why the officer had to shoot him once. Whatever the case, this is a tragedy.

[Gauthier]

Christ.

Here's to hoping that Chicago doesn't riot. On that note, why is it first degree murder? Wasn't there some basis as to why the officer had to shoot him once. Whatever the case, this is a tragedy.

An optimistic explanation is the prosecutors have the cop dead to rights. A more cynical explanation is that they know they can't meet the requirements for a Murder 1 charge and filed it to throw the game like the Black Sox.

[New Zepuha]

Unfortunately Chicago as a whole, much like New Jersey, has a major issue with corruption. I haven't seen the video yet, so I have yet to formulate a full opinion on this. But CPD has already got one dangerous black marker with the unregistered blacksite where gitmo like stuff was apparently happening. So the idea that CPD is corrupt is not unrealistic.

But murder 1? Call me cynical [above] but I don't think the prosecutors will get Murder 1, it'd be incredibly easy to grab him for Murder 2 however.

[Cetacea]

Christ.

Here's to hoping that Chicago doesn't riot. On that note, why is it first degree murder? Wasn't there some basis as to why the officer had to shoot him once. Whatever the case, this is a tragedy.

no there wasn't any basis.
apparently he was holding a knife and refused to drop it, but he wasn't threatening anyone and the video shows him walking away - I'm assuming shooting someone to stop them walking away is not standard police procedure.

Murder does not imply premeditation, only first degree murder does. Which is why I'm wondering why they're charging the guy with first degree murder, as they'll have to prove that it was all premeditated.

how long does it have to be to be premeditated? If I see someone walking down the road, decide I don't like them and then go and shoot them is that not premeditated? the decision process may have taken 5 minutes rather than 5 days but I still made a deliberate decision to kill someone and had the means to do so.

besides which, Police should be held to a higher standard

[Rusozak]

You don't know much about Chicago if you think it's primarily cops.

Not denying they are corrupt though.

Sorry, not sure where I said "Primarily". I said "Often", which is a different word with different connotations and a different definition. Please don't put words in my mouth.

In every instance of cops killing people around here I recall, it's an active gunman shooting back at them. Most shootings I hear in the local news are drive by shootings by gangs. I would say organized crime is the largest culprit of gun violence here.

[New Zepuha]

Christ.

Here's to hoping that Chicago doesn't riot. On that note, why is it first degree murder? Wasn't there some basis as to why the officer had to shoot him once. Whatever the case, this is a tragedy.

no there wasn't any basis.
apparently he was holding a knife and refused to drop it, but he wasn't threatening anyone and the video shows him walking away - I'm assuming shooting someone to stop them walking away is not standard police procedure.

No, but prior case law [Tennessee v. Garner] states you may [use deadly force] shoot and kill a fleeing subject should you believe they pose a serious threat of bodily injury to officers or the general public.

[Napkiraly]

Christ.

Here's to hoping that Chicago doesn't riot. On that note, why is it first degree murder? Wasn't there some basis as to why the officer had to shoot him once. Whatever the case, this is a tragedy.

no there wasn't any basis.
apparently he was holding a knife and refused to drop it, but he wasn't threatening anyone and the video shows him walking away - I'm assuming shooting someone to stop them walking away is not standard police procedure.

Murder does not imply premeditation, only first degree murder does. Which is why I'm wondering why they're charging the guy with first degree murder, as they'll have to prove that it was all premeditated.

how long does it have to be to be premeditated? If I see someone walking down the road, decide I don't like them and then go and shoot them is that not premeditated? the decision process may have taken 5 minutes rather than 5 days but I still made a deliberate decision to kill someone and had the means to do so.

besides which, Police should be held to a higher standard

What constitutes as premeditated varies by state iirc. So maybe Illinois has a definition that could see Van Dyke being put under a Murder 1 charge.

[The Emerald Dawn]

no there wasn't any basis.
apparently he was holding a knife and refused to drop it, but he wasn't threatening anyone and the video shows him walking away - I'm assuming shooting someone to stop them walking away is not standard police procedure.



how long does it have to be to be premeditated? If I see someone walking down the road, decide I don't like them and then go and shoot them is that not premeditated? the decision process may have taken 5 minutes rather than 5 days but I still made a deliberate decision to kill someone and had the means to do so.

besides which, Police should be held to a higher standard

What constitutes as premeditated varies by state iirc. So maybe Illinois has a definition that could see Van Dyke being put under a Murder 1 charge.

http://statelaws.findlaw.com/illinois-law/illinois-first-degree-murder-laws.html

Intended to kill or do great bodily harm to that individual (or knew that the act would do so); or Knows that the acts create a strong probability of causing death or great bodily harm to the individual; - See more at: http://statelaws.findlaw.com/illinois-l ... 22o7F.dpuf

[Napkiraly]

What constitutes as premeditated varies by state iirc. So maybe Illinois has a definition that could see Van Dyke being put under a Murder 1 charge.

http://statelaws.findlaw.com/illinois-law/illinois-first-degree-murder-laws.html

Intended to kill or do great bodily harm to that individual (or knew that the act would do so); or Knows that the acts create a strong probability of causing death or great bodily harm to the individual; - See more at: http://statelaws.findlaw.com/illinois-l ... 22o7F.dpuf

Well, that seems to be applicable to this case.

[The Emerald Dawn]

http://statelaws.findlaw.com/illinois-law/illinois-first-degree-murder-laws.html

Intended to kill or do great bodily harm to that individual (or knew that the act would do so); or Knows that the acts create a strong probability of causing death or great bodily harm to the individual; - See more at: http://statelaws.findlaw.com/illinois-l ... 22o7F.dpuf

Well, that seems to be applicable to this case.

TED, NSG's LMGTFY.

[Napkiraly]

Well, that seems to be applicable to this case.

TED, NSG's LMGTFY.

Yeah well I'm on a phone with limited internets.

Plus, I'm a Dark Lord. I expect others to do things for me.

[Trumpostan]

how long does it have to be to be premeditated? If I see someone walking down the road, decide I don't like them and then go and shoot them is that not premeditated? the decision process may have taken 5 minutes rather than 5 days but I still made a deliberate decision to kill someone and had the means to do so.

A few seconds can be enough, given circumstances. Like your example, I see someone, I decide I'm gonna shoot them and then after a few seconds consideration I do it. That makes it premeditated.

But proving it can be difficult. Especially if there are no witnesses. In this case, however, there were several other police officers on the scene who saw no reason to shoot. It does kind of seem that the officer in question made a deliberate decision albeit in seconds rather than hours or days. This could potentially qualify as premeditated.

[The Emerald Dawn]

TED, NSG's LMGTFY.

Yeah well I'm on a phone with limited internets.

Plus, I'm a Dark Lord. I expect others to do things for me.

The names my parents chose for me intended to instill a spirit of service in me, so I guess that works out.

[USS Monitor]

You know, I've said it like five million times.

Everyone hates it when the law is broken, this is true, but they get fucking furious at the cover up. If the police had done a thorough investigation and followed all the rules and procedures, there would not be demonstrators in the streets now. Because business was taken care of.

But they tried to cover it up. So here we are.

^This.

Nobody's perfect and that goes for police same as any other people, but when there's a cover-up, then you can't just say, "Oops, our bad," and leave it at that. A shooting can be as simple as one guy (or girl, but it seems like it is usually guys) just having brainfart and making a wrong move in the heat of the moment, but a cover up shows a much deeper problem with the department culture.

[Napkiraly]

You know, I've said it like five million times.

Everyone hates it when the law is broken, this is true, but they get fucking furious at the cover up. If the police had done a thorough investigation and followed all the rules and procedures, there would not be demonstrators in the streets now. Because business was taken care of.

But they tried to cover it up. So here we are.

^This.

Nobody's perfect and that goes for police same as any other people, but when there's a cover-up, then you can't just say, "Oops, our bad," and leave it at that. A shooting can be as simple as one guy (or girl, but it seems like it is usually guys) just having brainfart and making a wrong move in the heat of the moment, but a cover up shows a much deeper problem with the department culture.

The officer charged has close to 20 misconduct complaints against him. Including using racial slurs and excessive force. And yet nothing was done.

[Kernen]

Shooting a perpetrator sixteen times would be perfectly acceptable if it took sixteen shots to stop them. Fourteen shots after he was on the ground is just obscene. With this guy's record, I'm amazed this didn't come sooner.

[Mavorpen]

^This.

Nobody's perfect and that goes for police same as any other people, but when there's a cover-up, then you can't just say, "Oops, our bad," and leave it at that. A shooting can be as simple as one guy (or girl, but it seems like it is usually guys) just having brainfart and making a wrong move in the heat of the moment, but a cover up shows a much deeper problem with the department culture.

The officer charged has close to 20 misconduct complaints against him. Including using racial slurs and excessive force. And yet nothing was done.

Now hold on, let's not jump to conclusions.

Maybe he has a Black Friend™.

[Gauthier]

Shooting a perpetrator sixteen times would be perfectly acceptable if it took sixteen shots to stop them. Fourteen shots after he was on the ground is just obscene. With this guy's record, I'm amazed this didn't come sooner.

It was all swept under the rug. Unfortunately it combined into a monster and pushed off the rug.

[Ethel mermania]

Part one.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Chicago police officer now faces first-degree murder charges in the shooting death of Laquan McDonald, 17. He is being held without bail.

Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke shot the black teenager 16 times in October 2014. The shooting was recorded on a police dash cam video, which Chicago police are expected to release at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. ABC7 Chicago Eyewitness News received a version of the video earlier, but choose to use only a single image due to safety concerns.

Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez described the video after Van Dyke appeared in court.

"At 9:57:36, McDonald has crossed over the white lane divider away from the officers, and Officer Van Dyke has taken at least one step towards McDonald with his weapon drawn," Alvarez said. "The officer then opened fire on Laquan, whose arm jerks, his body spins around and he falls to the ground. While Laquan is falling to the ground the defendant takes at least one more step towards him, at which point the angle of the dash camera changes and we can no longer see the officer in the frame of the video. Two seconds later, Laquan McDonald is lying on the street on his right side, and the video captures what appears to be two puffs of smoke coming from the ground near his body. These puffs of smoke were later identified as clouds of debris caused by the fired bullets. At 9:57:51, McDonald is still lying on the street and the last visible shot is fired."

Alvarez said at this point, there is a pause as Van Dyke prepares to reload his gun. His partner tells him to hold fire and then walks over to McDonald and kicks away the teenager's knife.

Van Dyke acted "without legal justification and with the intent to kill or do great bodily harm, Jason D. Van Dyke personally discharged a firearm that proximately cause the death of LaQuan McDonald," according to court documents filed Tuesday.

"Of the eight officers on the scene, it was only the defendant who fired his weapon," Alvarez, who has come under fire for the handling of the investigation, said.

Van Dyke made no comment Tuesday morning, but his attorney spoke after the bond hearing. Defense attorney Dan Herbert cautions the public's rush to judgment after the video is released.

"The judgement made by individuals that view this tape from the comfort of their living room on their sofa, it's not the same standard as the perspective from my client. People viewing this video tape will have the brilliance and benefits of hindsight, 20/20 vision," Herbert said. "People will judge the split-second action of my client. However, the standard in this case is: what was my client experiencing at the time at which he made this split-second decision to fire, and that is the standard that is going to be utilized. And thankfully that will be the standard that will be utilized in court, and we fully anticipate that we will be successful in this case."

On October 20, 2014, Chicago police were responding to reports of car break-ins near 40th and Karlov when they came across McDonald. Officers said the teen, who was a ward of the state, was acting erratically and had a knife he refused to drop.

An autopsy determined McDonald was shot multiple times in the chest, the back of his arms and right leg. McDonald's family already received a $5 million settlement from the city in April 2015.

"This investigation was tenacious. It was meticulous," Alvarez said. "At the end of the day, I'd rather take my time and get it right than rush to judgment and get it wrong."

"We are standing by Officer Van Dyke in the performance of his duty at this stage. That is what we are elected to do," Dean Angelo, Fraternal Order of Police, said.

The timeline for the city to release the graphic dash cam video of the fatal shooting is Wednesday, according to a court order from Cook County Judge Franklin Valderrama. The city is bracing for outrage as city and faith leaders call for calm and peaceful protests.

McDonald's family released a statement: We [the family of Laquan McDonald] deeply appreciate the outpouring of love and support for Laquan. This is a difficult time for us. As we have said in the past, while we would prefer that the video not be released we understand that a court has ordered otherwise. We ask for calm in Chicago. No one understands the anger more than us but if you choose to speak out, we urge you to be peaceful. Don't resort to violence in Laquan's name. Let his legacy be better than that.

Starting Tuesday, all on-duty Chicago police officers are required to wear their uniforms, but none of the planned vacation days had been canceled.

Van Dyke, who has been on desk duty since the investigation into the shooting began, is the first on-duty Chicago police officer to be charged with first-degree murder. He turned himself over to authorities on Tuesday morning and left his gun with his wife, officials said.

Then, of course, the video was released, leading to demonstrators taking to the streets of Chicago tonight.

Part two.

Chicago (CNN)Protesters took to the streets of Chicago late Tuesday after police released a graphic dash-cam video showing an officer shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.

McDonald was killed in October 2014. The city's mayor has called for peace.

"I believe this is a moment that can build bridges of understanding rather than become a barrier of misunderstanding. I understand that the people will be upset and will want to protest when they see this video," Mayor Rahm Emanuel said. "We as a city must rise to this moment."

Chicago has been preparing for protests in advance of the video's release, which was ordered by a judge to happen no later than Wednesday.

McDonald was a black teenager. The officer who shot him, Jason Van Dyke, is white.

He was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder in McDonald's death and is being held without bond.

Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy acknowledged that residents "have a right to be angry."

Soon after the video's release, a group of protesters began marching, chanting "16 shots" and "We got to fight back!" McDonald died after being shot 16 times.

The NAACP said that McDonald's family and the community deserve action.

"People have a right to be angry, people have a right to protest, people have a right to free speech," McCarthy said. "But they do not have a right to commit criminal acts."

And that's not even the whole story till now. Police officers, and possibly the department, are being accused of a cover-up in which 86 minutes of security video from a local Burger King that may have caught the shooting was edited by police after they asked to view it, and initial statements regarding how many times McDonald had been shot were outright lies, contradicted by the autopsy report. That last link also notes that this was all swept under the rug until a whistle-blower informed the press that dashcam video of the shooting existed.

In other words, the Chicago Police Department has now joined an infamous list that includes Ferguson, Baltimore, and the NYPD, only these guys seem to have been evern worse than all three of the rest combined. Not only was this shooting so blatantly unjustified that the City Council authorized a $5 million payout to the family before they even sued, but the cover-up by other officers shows that this isn't just one bad cop, but an entire department of cops (except for one anonymous whistle-blower) willing to break the law to cover for that bad cop. Now we can only hope that the justified anger of those in Chicago is not translated into violence and burning.

Thoughts?

1.. sorry to see the kid was shot. Shame he could not have been arrested.
2.Glad to see the cameras worked.
3. Murder 1 I think is going to be hard to prove, can they charge him in Illinois with lessor offenses at the same time?
4. Is there an investigation going on into the coverup?

[USS Monitor]

^This.

Nobody's perfect and that goes for police same as any other people, but when there's a cover-up, then you can't just say, "Oops, our bad," and leave it at that. A shooting can be as simple as one guy (or girl, but it seems like it is usually guys) just having brainfart and making a wrong move in the heat of the moment, but a cover up shows a much deeper problem with the department culture.

The officer charged has close to 20 misconduct complaints against him. Including using racial slurs and excessive force. And yet nothing was done.

OK, that's a problem.