Jason Van Dyke Trial Set To Begin Monday
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The judge and jury is set to hear opening statements Monday in the long-awaited trial of Chicagpo police officer Jason Van Dyke.
He's charged with murder in the shooting death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.
CBS 2's Vi Nguyen reports.
The judge still has to rule on the change of venue motion whether to move the case out of Cook County. It's something the defense has been pushing for since the beginning. The defense argues that Van Dyke cannot get a fair trial given the amount of attention the case has received.
Last week, Van Dyke's legal team decided to move forward with a jury trial. The jury is made up of 12 people, seven are white, three are Hispanic, one is Asian-American and one is African American.
Several community groups said they are not happy with the racial makeup of the jury. Protesters held a rally Saturday for Laquan McDonald and urged people to come out in the days ahead. They said the jury does not adequately represent the makeup of Cook County's African American population.
The latest census results showed 20 percent of the population in Cook County is African American.
