The Chicago police union has hired the officer charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of black teen Laquan McDonald, the Associated Press reports.
Jason Van Dyke, the report notes, was hired by the Fraternal Order of Police to work as a janitor about three weeks ago.
Dean Angelo, president of the union, told AP that Van Dyke, who is suspended from the Chicago Police Department, is in a "very difficult situation financially," adding that the union would do the same thing for any other Chicago officer.
Van Dyke has reportedly lost other jobs because of the publicity surrounding Laquan's shooting, and threats have closed his wife's business, AP notes.
Van Dyke is facing the murder charge for shooting the 17-year-old 16 times in 2014. The shooting, which was captured on dash-cam video, sparked protests and outrage after the video was released showing the volley of shots that were fired when Laquan was seemingly walking away. As AP notes, the shooting sparked numerous investigations, including a federal civil rights probe into the CPD.
Read more at Talking Points Memo.
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