Lawyer for cop in Laquan McDonald shooting wants case out of Chicago
CHICAGO — An attorney for a Chicago police officer charged with first-degree murder for the shooting death of a black teen says he will seek a change of venue.
Officer Jason Van Dyke's attorney, Dan Herbert, expressed concern on Friday about statements made by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel since his client was charged with first-degree murder on Nov. 24 for the shooting death of Laquan McDonald. The shooting, and the public outrage over it, has set off weeks of protest in the the city
Emanuel, who has faced calls to resign over his handling of the case, has publicly denounced Van Dyke on multiple occasions over the last several weeks. Herbert said that Emanuel has unfairly tarnished Van Dyke with his repeated statements about the officer.
"We intend to seek a change of venue and quite frankly Exhibit A is going to be the mayor and his comments," Herbert said. "We're going to have to find a county that is outside of the reach of the mayor's comments."
In a speech before Chicago's city council earlier this month, the mayor said that the October 2014 incident that ended with McDonald's death "should have been contained and managed." Police confronted McDonald after getting 911 calls that McDonald, who had PCP in his system at the time of his death and was holding a knife, had been breaking into trucks.
Van Dyke fired at McDonald 16 times within seconds of arriving on the scene, saying that he feared for his life. At least five police officers at the scene backed up Van Dyke in official police statements following the shooting. Van Dyke told investigators that McDonald was moving toward him when he started firing. Police dashcam video, however, appears to show that McDonald was moving away from Van Dyke when he opened fire.
"But thirty seconds after Jason Van Dyke arrived, it was no longer routine and by the book," Emanuel said in the Dec. 9 speech. "Sixteen shots were fired. A young man from Chicago died in the streets of Chicago. Nothing can excuse what happened to Laquan McDonald."
Emanuel also denounced Van Dyke in comments to reporters on Nov. 24, the day that Van Dyke was charged and the city satisfied a court order to release the police video to the public.
“We hold our police officers to a high standard and obviously in this case, Jason Van Dyke violated both the standards of professionalism that come with being a police officer but also basic moral standards that bind our community together,” Emanuel said.
A spokesman for the mayor did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Van Dyke was back in court on Friday for a brief hearing where an indictment for murder and official misconduct was announced by Cook County Judge James Brown.
Marvin Hunter, McDonald's great uncle, said following the hearing that the teen's family believes it "can't get a fair trial" in Cook County.
Investigators from the Justice Department, which announced a civil rights investigation of the Chicago Police Department in the aftermath of the video's release, began interviewing police department leadership earlier this week. The DOJ officials also met with Emanuel and community leaders this week as part of their probe of the police department's practices.
Hunter said that the Justice Department should expand their investigation into the entire Cook County court system.
"We would like some federal oversight, so we could at least get a fair trial for our family member," Hunter said.
Follow Paste BN Chicago correspondent Aamer Madhani on Twitter: @AamerISmad