Jason Van Dyke, a Chicago police officer who shot a black teenager - Laquan McDonald as many as 16 times in 2014, was on Friday found guilty of having committed second-degree murder.
Van Dyke was originally charged with first-degree murder, 16 counts of aggravated battery, one for each shot he fired and official misconduct, The Hill reported.
According to Sputnik, it was the first instance in over 35 years that a Chicago cop was charged with murder over an on-duty killing when he was charged with the same in April 2015.
The jury on Friday found him guilty of second-degree murder and upheld each count of aggravated battery he was charged with. He was not found guilty of the misconduct charge.
Dashcam footage of the October 20, 2014 incident, which was released a year later and led to public outrage, shows the teenager walking when a police vehicle stops beside him. Two officers exited the vehicle, and when McDonald was around 15 feet away, Van Dyke open fired on him.
Massive protests were held against police violence in the city, with "16 shots and a cover-up" becoming a public outcry.
Van Dyke's legal counsel was defending him by saying that a knife that was in McDonald's possession made the former fear for his safety and provoked the reaction. However, the footage shows McDonald just walking by and not brandishing the switch knife. It was also found closed at the scene of the crime.
However, Van Dyke's lawyer said that the footage did not tell the full story and that it is "essentially meaningless based on the testimony." He further blamed McDonald for the incident, saying that "the tragedy could have been prevented by one simple step."
Police Superintendent Gary McCarthy was fired by the mayor owing to the recurrent violations of rights of the citizens, while former United States Attorney, Anita Alvarez lost her re-election during the unfolding of the case.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
