Saint Barack lectures black men

[rooster59]

Chicago police officer guilty of murder in 2014 shooting of black teen

By Suzannah Gonzales

 

 

CHICAGO (Reuters) - White Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke was found guilty of second-degree murder on Friday for the 2014 shooting of black teen Laquan McDonald, a case that laid bare tensions between the black community and the police department in the third-largest U.S. city.

 

Van Dyke, 40, was also convicted of 16 counts of aggravated battery, one count for each of the shots fired. McDonald, 17, was armed with a knife.

 

The former officer sat emotionless as the verdict was read. Cook County Circuit Court Judge Vincent Gaughan immediately revoked bail and Van Dyke was escorted out of the courtroom.

 

He faces up to 20 years in prison for the second-degree murder conviction and up to 30 years for each of the 16 counts of aggravated battery.

 

Van Dyke is the first Chicago police officer to face a murder charge for an on-duty incident in decades. His conviction could quell any possible unrest of the kind that has occurred in other cities in recent years when white officers have been cleared of charges in the shooting deaths of black men.

 

"This is historic for Chicago and police misconduct cases around the country. The jury did what they could with the evidence," said Reverend Janette Wilson of Rainbow PUSH Coalition, a Chicago-based civil rights organisation.

 

The killings of mostly unarmed black men at hands of police, some of which were captured on video, helped give rise to the Black Lives Matter movement and became an issue in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.

 

Protesters around the court building held signs opposing police violence. About a hundred of them marched around the courthouse, then headed south, staying on sidewalks. "This is what black power looks like," one demonstrator said into a megaphone.

 

"It's a move in a good direction. I don't think there is any way to say that any verdict would have been full justice for Laquan McDonald and his family," said April Friendly, 40, one of the demonstrators.

 

The conviction on the lesser charge of second-degree murder suggests the jury credited Van Dyke's claim that he believed there was a threat but found his belief was unreasonable.

 

The guilty verdict was not a surprise, said Van Dyke's attorney, Daniel Herbert.

 

"We knew coming into it with a Cook County venue in this case with the Cook County jury there was not a chance in the world we were going to come away with a complete not guilty,” Herbert told reporters.

 

A dashboard camera video, released more than a year after the Oct. 20, 2014, shooting, showed police gunning down McDonald who fell to the ground.

 

The video sparked days of protests in Chicago, led to the dismissal of the city's police superintendent and calls for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to resign.

 

During the three-week trial, prosecutors repeatedly showed the dashboard camera video, arguing that it clearly showed McDonald was not moving toward Van Dyke at the time the officer began shooting.

 

Van Dyke testified in his own defence, saying he feared for his safety and fired because McDonald was advancing on him. Both the officer and his lawyers argued that the video, which was taken from the side, did not reflect the incident from his perspective.

 

Defence lawyers also portrayed McDonald as a dangerous armed criminal under the influence of a drug.

 

The 12-person jury, which included one black member, began deliberations on Thursday afternoon. The jury acquitted Van Dyke of the charge of official misconduct.

 

Details on a sentencing date were not immediately known.

 

Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President Kevin Graham told reporters after the verdict that the case was used to "kick around" the Chicago Police Department. "Surgeons make far more mistakes than police officers and they certainly are not put in prison for it," he said.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-10-06

 

 

[helpisgood]

FYI, below is a video by WBEZ (Chicago) of the immediate events prior to the shooting and the actual shooting.  They pause the video at important times so the viewer is aware of who is who, and where they are located and what they are doing.  You can judge for yourself.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqCMMRoyPE4

 

Edited October 6, 2018 by helpisgood
added info

[irwinfc]

when an article's title has the word black in it and starts with the word white, one just loses interest in reading the rest of it. 

[Stargeezr]

Glad there was finally some justice in th USA. Too many times the cops have

gotten off with murder, claiming to be shooting in self defence.

Geezer

[impulse]

1 hour ago, helpisgood said:

FYI, below is a video by WBEZ (Chicago) of the immediate events prior to the shooting and the actual shooting.  They pause the video at important times so the viewer is aware of who is who, and where they are located and what they are doing.  You can judge for yourself.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqCMMRoyPE4

 

If the police reports were accurately described in that video, they should also fire and prosecute every cop that lied.  Had this happened 10 years ago before smartphones and ubiquitous dash cams, this would have been just another "justifiable" shooting in self defense.

 

Edit:  Well, halfway there...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyuMEHEkulk

 

Edited October 6, 2018 by impulse

[helpisgood]

I'd be interested in the details of this convicted cop's incarceration.  My guess is that there will be  more than one inmate who wants payback.  So, from what little I know of these places, I assume he would be segregated from the general population, if I am using the jargon correctly.

 

Geez, sixteen rounds?  

[newatthis]

14 minutes ago, helpisgood said:

I'd be interested in the details of this convicted cop's incarceration.  My guess is that there will be  more than one inmate who wants payback.  So, from what little I know of these places, I assume he would be segregated from the general population, if I am using the jargon correctly.

 

Geez, sixteen rounds?  

And was reloading. 

[newatthis]

6 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President Kevin Graham told reporters after the verdict that the case was used to "kick around" the Chicago Police Department. "Surgeons make far more mistakes than police officers and they certainly are not put in prison for it," he said.

16 rounds is not a mistake.

[mwbrown]

1 hour ago, irwinfc said:

when an article's title has the word black in it and starts with the word white, one just loses interest in reading the rest of it. 

Why?  Because you're white and the murder of black people doesn't matter to you, I guess.

[Guest Jerry787]

Well Done, even if can not take back to life the victim

[impulse]

21 minutes ago, Jerry787 said:

Well Done, even if can not take back to life the victim

 

Can't bring back the victim, but it may cause cops to think twice before shooting the next one, or covering it up.

 

And the next police superintendent to think twice before holding back evidence for a year.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZdIz3vLgUs

 

And the next (elected) State's Attorney for the same.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY1kG7V5Txo

 

And the next mayor...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mapxyIjRjBs

 

 

[farcanell]

2 hours ago, helpisgood said:

I'd be interested in the details of this convicted cop's incarceration.  My guess is that there will be  more than one inmate who wants payback.  So, from what little I know of these places, I assume he would be segregated from the general population, if I am using the jargon correctly.

 

Geez, sixteen rounds?  

The correct “jargon” is “presidential pardon”... that’ll keep him safe.

[nausea]

20 hours ago, rooster59 said:

White Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke was found guilty

Was that really necessary. White man dicovers cure for cancer, white man solves world poverty problem, white man discovers nuclear fusion power - need I go on. The fault in this observation is fairly obvious. White or black or multicoloured with a hint of pink, who cares? It's an American (as in USA) thing, I suppose. As a Brit I'm colour blind. From my earliest days I've been exposed to people of various tints, and you learn to judge them on their character, not the colour of their skin. Americans need to get out of this black/white stereotyping, it's going nowhere, and you're forcing your young men to adopt stereotypical behaviours which are probably very much against their real inclinations.

[impulse]

3 hours ago, nausea said:

Was that really necessary. White man dicovers cure for cancer, white man solves world poverty problem, white man discovers nuclear fusion power - need I go on. The fault in this observation is fairly obvious. White or black or multicoloured with a hint of pink, who cares? It's an American (as in USA) thing, I suppose. As a Brit I'm colour blind. From my earliest days I've been exposed to people of various tints, and you learn to judge them on their character, not the colour of their skin. Americans need to get out of this black/white stereotyping, it's going nowhere, and you're forcing your young men to adopt stereotypical behaviours which are probably very much against their real inclinations.

 

White Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke was found guilty of second-degree murder on Friday for the 2014 shooting of black teen Laquan McDonald, a case that laid bare tensions between the black community and the police department in the third-largest U.S. city.

 

You forgot the part where they mention the victim is black.  And that the case falls into a much bigger context of a city with a horrendous murder rate and a history of corrupt police and within a national framework where the police are notorious for shooting first and letting God sort out the good guys and the bad guys- with a disproportionate percentage of the unarmed victims being black.

 

"Cop convicted of shooting a teen" would also reduce the number of clicks (and readers) because it leaves out the crux of why the story is relevant.

 

Finally, you can claim you're color blind.  But you're not.  None of us is (and that comes from a guy who had 2 black room-mates by my choice in college).  If you want to see evidence, have a read of TVF where Africans, Russians, Indians, Chinese, and (most of all) Thai people are denigrated mercilessly.  Color blind, NOT.

 

[irwinfc]

22 hours ago, mwbrown said:

Why?  Because you're white and the murder of black people doesn't matter to you, I guess.

wrong. because i'm asian and color does not affect my decisions. i can see where you stand on racism. what a shame. 

[Stargeezr]

Nausea, I think that Britain has not been a White society for many years

and that is why you have gone color blind. Go to the USA especially the east side and

maybe you will see why the Americans still think white black and in between

colors. Just  a suggestion. The trip may do you good.

Geezer

[mwbrown]

On 10/7/2018 at 10:34 AM, irwinfc said:

wrong. because i'm asian and color does not affect my decisions. i can see where you stand on racism. what a shame. 

It's ironic that you didn't include your own quote that clearly shows color directly affects your decisions.  You read the colors black and white and made a decision to lose interest.

 

"when an article's title has the word black in it and starts with the word white, one just loses interest in reading the rest of it."

 

I made my post to show that racism exists and is a literal life and death issue, all over the world.  But you've just lost your interest in it.  Sad. 

[irwinfc]

3 hours ago, mwbrown said:

It's ironic that you didn't include your own quote that clearly shows color directly affects your decisions.  You read the colors black and white and made a decision to lose interest.

 

"when an article's title has the word black in it and starts with the word white, one just loses interest in reading the rest of it."

 

I made my post to show that racism exists and is a literal life and death issue, all over the world.  But you've just lost your interest in it.  Sad. 

right. just ignored your racist assumption that i'm white. i'm simply tired of the raice-baiting and virtue signaling you seem to thrive on. losing interest in such doesn't make me a racist. racism only exists among racists. just ask Morgan Freeman.