A white Chicago police officer charged with first-degree murder over the 2014 fatal shooting of a black teenager has pleaded not guilty in court. He had no comment for reporters.
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Prosecutors announced last month they were charging Van Dyke with six counts of murder and one count of official misconduct for the shooting. Originally, the arraignment was supposed to happen in front of a camera.
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Judge Vincent Gaughan is assigned to handle the case.
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Dan Herbert, Van Dyke’s defense attorney, told AP that his client would not like to be viewed “as this cold-blooded killer”.
Jones’ family said they also plan to file a lawsuit. The retention vote is likely to happen before Van Dyke’s trial – first-degree murder cases rarely go to trial in Cook County within a year.
His lawyer is seeking to have the case tried outside of Cook County.
Dashcam footage from the shooting shows Van Dyke firing 16 times at McDonald, despite the teen making no gesture toward the officer – he was veering away when Van Dyke opened fire. Police have said officers responding to the domestic dispute fired at LeGrier when he became combative. Emanuel has described Van Dyke as “a person taking the law into their own hands” and “not using the judgment that is expected”, and called the shooting “profoundly disgusting”.
Soon after Emanuel’s re-election, the city agreed to a $5 million settlement with the 17-year-old’s family. He has been free since he posted bond. Attorney Bill Foutris said LeGrier did not pose a threat to police, even if he was still holding a bat when officers arrived. Van Dyke’s next hearing is on January 29.
Protests over the shooting of Laquan McDonald led to the resignation of Chicago’s police chief and a US Department of Justice probe into whether the department use lethal force too often, especially against minorities.
The uproar over McDonald’s killing and last weekend’s police shooting and killing of a Chicago grandmother and teenager have inflamed calls for Emanuel to resign, though there is no official process to remove him.
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He said the creation of the task force was meant to rebuild trust in the police department of one of the country’s largest cities.
