Former Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke is a free man. Van Dyke served less than half of his nearly seven-year prison term for the 2014 fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald.
Van Dyke is white. McDonald, 17, was black. It is a case that roiled the city, caused widespread protests and sparked court-mandated police reforms after a blistering report by the U.S. Department of Justice. Among the report’s findings: Chicago Police routinely used excessive force and violated the rights of people of color.
It was Oct. 20, 2014, when a Chicago police responded to reports that a black teenager carrying a knife was breaking into cars. Laquan McDonald had slashed some tires of a truck and was being followed on a southwest side Chicago street by a number of police officers waiting for a unit with a Taser.
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