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Chicago Police Officer Who Killed Laquan McDonald Found Guilty Of Murder
Chicago Police Officer Who Killed Laquan McDonald Found Guilty Of Murder
Source: McDonald Family/Cook Co Attorney

Chicago Police Officer Who Killed Laquan McDonald Found Guilty Of Murder

Chicago Police Officer Who Killed Laquan McDonald\u00a0Found Guilty Of Murder Source: McDonald Family/Cook Co Attorney

Jason Van Dyke, the police officer who killed Laquan McDonald in 2014, has been found guilty of murder.

Jurors found Dyke guilty of second-degree murder and also convicted him on 16 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm  — one charge for each shot fired at the teenager. He could face decades in prison when sentenced according to the New York Times.

Dyke became the first Chicago police officer convicted of murder for an on-duty shooting in nearly 50 years.

READ: Rep. Bobby Rush Introduces 'The Laquan McDonald Camera Act'

The incident occurred back in 2014 when Dyke fired 16 shots at McDonald. Although initial claims from cops said that the 17-year-old lunged at police, video of the encounter released 400 days later revealed that was not the case. Judging by the video McDonald was actually trying to flee from the police, and upon arriving at the confrontation Dyke shot at the teenager and continued to do so even after he fell to the ground.

As a result of the incident, Rep Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) introduced a new bill for Congress to consider, that would restrict federal funding to agencies which fail to enforce police body camera and dash cam policies.

Called The Laquan McDonald Camera Act if the bill is passed, any law enforcement agency that does not comply with the dash cam policy is taxed 10 percent of federal funding unless certification is provided to the U.S. Attorney General.

"This legislation seeks to restore some of the public’s trust in law enforcement at a time when trust is at an all-time low. There has been a wave of questionable police shootings that resulted in the deaths of unarmed citizens—or people who appeared to be of no threat at the time of the encounter," Rush said. "Cases, such as Laquan McDonald, Mike Brown, Alton Sterling, [Sandra Bland] and Philando Castile are brutal illustrations on why we need a clear documentation of facts when citizen-encounters with police turn deadly."

Source: New York Times