Van Dyke Drops Appeal Of Laquan McDonald Murder Conviction

CHICAGO, IL — An Illinois appellate court has granted former Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke’s request to drop an appeal of his conviction in the October 2014 murder of Laquan McDonald.

The First District Appellate Court of Illinois agreed Friday to dismiss Van Dyke’s appeal, two years after a jury convicted him of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm.

Van Dyke’s trial included police dashcam video that showed him shooting 16 times at McDonald, a 17-year-old Black boy who was holding a knife. Most of those shots were fired after McDonald had fallen to the ground.

Van Dyke was ordered in 2018 to serve less than seven years in prison, a sentence that the Rev. Marvin Hunter, McDonald’s great uncle, said reduced his nephew's life to that of a second-class citizen.

"I've been told time and time again that the citizenry of the County of Cook is not going to be satisfied with a sentence that's anything south of 20 years," Hunter said in October 2018.

"However, I want to say to everyone — everyone in the city of Chicago and across this country — that if they had sentenced him to 1 minute, it is a victory," Hunter continued. "It is a victory because what has happened in this courtroom today has never happened in the history of this county and it sets a precedent and it sends a strong message to unjust police officers that now you can and will go to jail if you're caught lying, if you're caught breaking the law."

Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon led the prosecution against Van Dyke after Cook County requested a special prosecutor. He said Friday that Van Dyke’s decision to drop his appeal “prevents additional years of litigation, bringing finality to the thorough prosecution of this case in which his rights were protected and justice was served.”

In March 2019, Van Dyke was transferred to a federal prison in upstate New York after being attacked by an inmate at a prison in Connecticut. It is unclear where he is currently being held.

Van Dyke is expected to be released from prison in 2022.