Family of Laquan McDonald call for peaceful protests as murder trial for police officer who killed teen set to begin
The family of an African-American teenager fatally shot by a white Chicago police officer pleaded Tuesday for "complete peace" as the murder trial for the officer is set to begin on Wednesday.
Laquan McDonald's loved ones said they are concerned that violence could break out if Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke, 40, is acquitted in the killing of the 17-year-old he shot 16 times in a 2014 street confrontation.
"We don't want any violence before, during and after the verdict in this trial," the Rev. Marvin Hunter, McDonald's great uncle, said during a press conference Tuesday.
"We are conscious that Laquan McDonald represents all of the victims of police violence against citizens in this city and this county. However, we're asking for complete peace," he said.
A collection of activist groups have been granted a permit to hold a large protest outside the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on Wednesday morning, when jury selection in the trial of Van Dyke is scheduled to begin.
"This is horrific, it is terrible what happened to Laquan," said Hunter, flanked by other relatives and family friends. "Laquan is certainly the victim in this matter. Jason Van Dyke is the perpetrator. However, we are not looking for revenge in his matter. We have no ill feelings toward the family of Mr. Van Dyke."
As Hunter spoke to reporters at his church, Grace Memorial Baptist Church, news came in that Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel had decided not to seek re-election.
Emanuel had been the target of criticism for how the city handled the aftermath of McDonald's death, with many blaming the mayor's office for delaying the release of a police dashcam video showing Van Dyke opening fire on McDonald six seconds after he exited his patrol car. Van Dyke, according to officials, had responded to a radio call that police spotted the teenager walking down a street holding a knife.
"I think it has to do with a multiplicity of things, bad decisions and judgments that have been made throughout the course of him being mayor of this city," Hunter said of Emanuel's announcement. "To pin it to one specific incident at this moment would actually say that I have a reaction and I haven't had a chance to process it at this time."
In an audio-recorded interview with the Chicago Tribune published last week, Van Dyke said he prays for the McDonald family daily.
"I offer up a rosary every day," Van Dyke told the newspaper.
While he declined on the advice of his lawyer to discuss details of the shooting, he did say it was the first time he had fired his gun in the line of duty during his more than 12 years as a member of the Chicago Police Department, working in some of the most dangerous neighborhoods of the city.
"Any loss of life was extremely difficult," Van Dyke said. "It's something you try to mentally prepare yourself for just in case. ... You don't ever want to shoot your gun. It doesn't matter if it's to put down a stray animal or something like that. Nobody wants to shoot their gun. I never would have fired my gun if I didn't think my life was in jeopardy or another citizen's life was. It's something you have to live with forever."
Hunter said he and other members of McDonald's family listened to the interview.
"But I can tell you what the facts say: The facts say that everything about Mr. Van Dyke's life says that he is certainly not remorseful for the things that he done to Laquan McDonald and that he is an adequate representation of all of the people like him that have killed innocent black people," Hunter said. "He became judge, jury and executioner and that is not the way the law should work in America and we certainly hope that it stops now.
"The old adage of 'Don't believe your lying eyes' won't work," he said. "We see that this was clear murder. We see that Laquan McDonald was not a threat to anybody. And we realize that this just happened out of the heart of an individual."
Hunter said his family is only interested in getting a fair trial and justice for McDonald.
"I want the prosecutor to do everything and use every tool he has at his hand. I want his wit, every ounce of strength that he has in his mind to make sure that justice is served here," Hunter said. "And when that happens, I want to accept it win, lose or draw."
