CHICAGO (AP) — Lawyers for a white Chicago police officer who shot black teenager Laquan McDonald to death in 2014 are scheduled to call more witnesses as they defend him against murder and other charges.
Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke holds hands with his wife Tiffany Van Dyke as he walks out of the Leighton Criminal Courthouse, Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018 in Chicago. (Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
Thursday will be the fourth day that Jason Van Dyke’s attorneys present evidence to Cook County jurors.
Defense attorneys are trying to show it was reasonable for Van Dyke to have perceived McDonald as a threat. The officer shot the teen 16 times as he walked away carrying a knife.
Several defense witnesses have testified about violent encounters McDonald had with authorities at a juvenile detention facility months earlier. And a truck driver testified that McDonald tried to stab him the night of the shooting.
Prosecutors rested their case last week but could call more witnesses after the defense rests.
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