CHICAGO (AP) — Defense attorneys in Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke’s murder trial are about to start calling witnesses, and the big question is whether Van Dyke will testify.
Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke listens during the fourth day of his first degree murder trial for the shooting death of Laquan McDonald at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018. (Antonio Perez/ Chicago Tribune via AP, Pool)
Prosecutors rested their case Thursday and the judge told jurors that the officer’s attorneys would start presenting their defense Monday morning. Van Dyke, who is white , isn’t obligated to testify, but he has the right to take the stand to give his version of what happened on Oct. 20, 2014, when he shot black teenager Laquan McDonald 16 times.
The other question is which — if any — officers at the scene the defense will call to testify. Prosecutors called several last week , but others, including two charged with trying to cover up what happened to protect Van Dyke, have not testified.
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