(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The grandmother of Laquan McDonald is pushing back at the suggestion family members support the decision by federal prosecutors not to file charges against the former Chicago police officer who killed her grandson.
Tracey Hunter on Thursday stood on Chicago’s Federal Plaza with a dozen activists, demanding that Jason Van Dyke be prosecuted in federal court.
“I’m so upset, I’m so angry about this outburst, this outcome,” she said. “Didn’t nobody contact the family — me or his mom — to say that we’re not seeking federal charges against Jason Van Dyke.”
Van Dyke was convicted in state court of second-degree murder and aggravated battery in 2018 and was recently released from prison. His early release angered some and prompted activists to ask the Justice Department to file new charges alleging Van Dyke deprived McDonald of his civil rights.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of Illinois earlier this week said it would not prosecute Van Dyke, for a variety of reasons. Among them, prosecutors said, was agreement from a family representative of McDonald’s. Officials also said it would be difficult to win a federal case.
Van Dyke, who is white, fatally shot McDonald, a Black teen, during an encounter between McDonald and police in October 2014. Dashcam video that was belatedly released did not support initial claims that McDonald had lunged at officers.
Activist Jamal Green on Thursday said the 16 rounds Van Dyke fired into McDonald amounted to “overkill.”
The office of U.S. Attorney John R. Lausch Jr. declined to comment.
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