Judge Rejects Motion To Dismiss Murder Charges In Laquan McDonald Case
CHICAGO (AP) -- A judge has refused to throw out the murder charges against a white Chicago police officer charged after he shot black teenager Laquan McDonald 16 times.
Officer Jason Van Dyke's attorney had argued that Van Dyke acted properly and was only charged because of the intense political pressure that prosecutors were under as a result of the release of the dashcam video that showed the 2014 killing.
The Chicago Sun-Times (http://bit.ly/2rlJlgq ) reports that attorney Dan Herbert argued during a hearing on Thursday that Van Dyke was not only justified in shooting the 17-year-old, who was armed with a small knife, but was obligated to shoot him to prevent "this dangerous, armed individual" from escaping.
The video showed McDonald veering away from officers when Van Dyke opened fire.
Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan denied Herbert's motion to dismiss the charges.
Protester Will Calloway said, outside of court, that van Dyke should go to trial as soon as possible: "We're tired of waiting."
Another protester did not heed Gaughan's warnings against disruptions in court. The attendee snapped his fingers at the judge's ruling, in approval. That person was cited for contempt and ordered held on $40,000 bond.
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