(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Federal prosecutors in Chicago on Monday announced they will not file criminal charges against the former Chicago police officer who was convicted in state court of murdering Laquan McDonald.
The announcement by U.S. Attorney John R. Lausch Jr. comes after consultation with a representative of McDonald’s family, officials with his office said.
Then-police officer Jason Van Dyke fired 16 rounds into McDonald, a Black 17-year-old, in October 2014 during a confrontation between the teen and officers. Dashcam video contradicted the police department’s initial story that McDonald lunged at officers.
In Cook County court, Van Dyke was convicted of second-degree murder and aggravated battery in 2018 and sentenced to 81 months in prison. He was released early in February, prompting activists to demand the feds pursue civil-rights charges against the ex-cop.
Lausch’s office cited several factors for why they will not prosecute Van Dyke, including the McDonald’s family’s position “not to pursue a second prosecution.”
But at least one family member, Tanisha Hunter, Laquan McDonald’s aunt, told the Sun-Times that she was shocked to learn there would be no federal charges against Van Dyke.
The statement from the U.S. attorney's office said proving a civil-rights case presents a very high bar.
“Federal prosecutors would need to prove to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Van Dyke willfully deprived Mr. McDonald of a constitutional right,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release. “To do that, prosecutors would have to prove not only that Mr. Van Dyke acted with the deliberate and specific intent to do something the law forbids, but also that his actions were not the result of mistake, fear, negligence, or bad judgment.”
Even if Van Dyke were convicted of such charges, a federal judge would be obligated to consider the prison time he has already served, prosecutors said.
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