Federal authorities decided that they will not criminally charge Jason Van Dyke, the police officer in Chicago that was convicted for the 2014 murder of Black teenager Laquan McDonald.
The US Attorney’s office in Chicago said that the decision was made after consulting with the McDonald family. The office cited that it would have been more difficult to prosecute him on the federal level considering the burden of proof is much higher.
Embed from Getty ImagesVan Dyke was captured on video unloading a clip on the teenager hitting him 16 times. He was convicted in 2018 for second-degree murder and aggravated battery. He served less than half of an 81 month sentence before being released from prison around 2 months ago.
Van Dyke’s name was not made public until he was charged more than a year after the murder.
