CHICAGO (AP) — Opening statements are expected Monday in the first-degree murder trial of a white Chicago police officer in the fatal shooting of a black 17-year-old, Laquan McDonald.
FILE – In this Oct. 20, 2014 file image taken from dash-cam video provided by the Chicago Police Department, Laquan McDonald, right, walks down the street moments before being fatally shot by Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke in Chicago. Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan has the task of presiding over Van Dyke’s murder trial, one of the city’s biggest trials in decades. For Gaughan, 77, the trial caps a career and a life that have included chapters as an engineering student, war hero, young man who had his own brush with the law, attorney and judge. (Chicago Police Department via AP, File)
Officer Jason Van Dyke is scheduled to go on trial in a Cook County, Illinois, courtroom. He also is charged with aggravated battery and official misconduct. He has pleaded not guilty.
Van Dyke’s attorneys say he feared for his life when he shot McDonald 16 times. Video shows Van Dyke opening fire as the young man walks away from officers with a knife in his hand.
Here are key moments in the case:
2014
Oct. 20: Van Dyke fatally shoots McDonald after responding to a call about a teenager breaking into cars. Other officers back Van Dyke’s claim that McDonald, who had a small knife with its blade folded, posed a threat to Van Dyke’s life.
2015
April 15: The Chicago City Council votes to approve a $5 million settlement with McDonald’s family.
Nov. 24: More than a year after the shooting, Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez announced she was charging Van Dyke with first-degree murder. Hours later, the city responds to a judge’s order and releases dashcam video of the shooting that shows McDonald veering away from officers. The footage appears to contradict the accounts of Van Dyke and the other officers on the scene that he lunged at them with the knife. The video’s release sparks days of protests.
Dec. 1: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel fires Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy after a public outcry over the handling of the McDonald case.
Dec. 7: The U.S. Department of Justice announces that its civil rights division will investigate the police force, looking for patterns of racial disparity in its use of force.
Dec. 9: Emanuel apologizes for McDonald’s killing in a speech before the City Council. He says Chicago’s police force needs “complete and total reform.”
Dec. 16: A grand jury indicts Van Dyke on six counts of first-degree murder and one count of official misconduct.
2016:
Feb. 16: The city of Chicago says it will release videos of police shootings and in-custody deaths within 60 days, after being criticized for refusing to release the McDonald shooting video for more than a year.
April 12: A task force established by Emanuel to look into police practices in the wake of the McDonald shooting says the department must acknowledge its racist past and overhaul its handling of excessive force allegations. It also recommends abolishing the Independent Police Review Authority, which investigates officer misconduct.
April 21: Emanuel announces changes to how police shootings and misconduct cases are handled, but draws criticism for stopping short of abolishing the Independent Police Review Authority.
May 13: Emanuel announces that he is abolishing the Independent Police Review Authority and replacing it with the Civilian Police Investigative Agency, which will have more independence and resources.
June 3: Chicago releases hundreds of videos that offer startling glimpses into violent encounters involving police, including the fatal shooting of a robbery suspect speeding toward officers in a van and an incident in which an officer slammed his night stick against a man’s head at a party.
Aug. 18: Superintendent Eddie Johnson says seven Chicago police officers should be fired for filing false reports in the McDonald shooting.
Oct. 7: Johnson releases details of a proposed new policy that would require officers to use the least amount of force necessary and emphasizes the “sanctity of life.”
Nov. 16: A special prosecutor says a grand jury has been impaneled to hear evidence into a possible cover-up by Chicago police officers in the McDonald shooting.
2017
Jan. 13: The Justice Department announces the findings of its civil rights investigation. It says the Chicago Police Department has violated the constitutional rights of residents for years — permitting racial bias against blacks, using excessive force and killing people who didn’t pose a threat. It concludes that the pattern was attributable to “systemic deficiencies” within the department and the city, including insufficient training and a failure to hold bad officers accountable for misconduct.
March 23: A grand jury adds 16 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm to the first-degree murder charges against Van Dyke in the McDonald shooting. The new indictment raises the number of felony counts against Van Dyke to 23.
May 17: The Police Department releases a new use of force policy that requires Chicago officers to undergo de-escalation training and imposes stricter rules on when they can fire their weapons at fleeing suspects.
June 3: Media reports say the city of Chicago and the Justice Department have negotiated a draft agreement that calls for an independent monitor to oversee reforms for the police force, which is the nation’s second largest. But it is unclear if there will be court oversight at some stage in the future.
June 14: Leading community groups, including a Black Lives Matter organization, file a class-action lawsuit against Chicago in a bid to bypass or scuttle a draft agreement between the city and the Justice Department that seeks to reform the police without federal court oversight.
June 27: Three Chicago police officers are indicted on felony charges that they conspired to cover up Van Dyke’s actions in the killing of McDonald.
Aug. 28: The city of Chicago changes course and says it wants to carry out far-reaching reforms of its police under strict federal court supervision, abandoning a draft deal on reforms with the Trump administration that envisioned no court role.
Nov. 14: The grand jury that indicted three Chicago police officers on charges that they conspired to cover up what happened when Van Dyke fatally shot McDonald disbands without indicting anyone else in the department.
Dec. 11: The Chicago Police Department says all patrol officers are now equipped with body cameras.
2018
March 20: The American Civil Liberties Union and several community organizations say that they have reached an agreement to provide input into reforms being proposed for the Chicago Police Department.
Sept. 13: Lawyers finish choosing 12 jurors and five alternates for Van Dyke’s murder trial. Emanuel and Illinois’ attorney general Lisa Madigan meanwhile unveil an updated plan to reform the city’s police, saying it will ensure permanent, far-reaching changes within a 12,000-officer department that has a long history of committing serious civil rights abuses. The more than 200-page document is submitted to U.S. District Judge Robert Dow for his consideration.
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