Laquan McDonald’s family is demanding federal charges against the former Chicago cop who murdered the 17-year-old Black teenager, according to Fox 32 Chicago.
Last week it was announced the ex-Chicago officer, who was convicted of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated assault for the 2014 shooting of McDonald, is set to be released on Feb. 3.
Van Dyke was sentenced to six years and nine months in January 2019 but will end up serving less than half of that term.
When the footage was released that showed the 2014 shooting of McDonald by Van Dyke, Black people across the city protested in frustration for not only McDonald’s killing but the Chicago Police Department’s handling of the case and how long it took for details of McDonald’s murder to be shared with the public. Almost years later, Black people are still angry with how things are being handled.
As you would imagine McDonald’s family was upset with the decision for Van Dyke to be released and as a result they want the Department of Justice to file federal civil rights charges.
From Fox 32 Chicago:
In a news conference Thursday, McDonald’s grandmother Tracie Hunter called the time served by former officer Jason Van Dyke “a slap on the wrist.”
“I just want justice, the right justice,” Hunter said at the news conference. “I’m not going to rest or be satisfied until this man does his rightful time.”
In response to the release of Van Dyke, community activists have planned multiple ways to protest the ex-Chicago cop’s release.
According to Fox 32 Chicago, Chicago activist William Callaway is calling on Chicago Transit Authority bus drivers and train conductors to shut down city services across the city on Jan. 31 to raise awareness about Van Dyke’s release.
Rev. Jesse Jackson, along with city activists, is also planning a rally in Downtown Chicago to protest Van Dyke’s release and lobby the Justice Department to file civil rights charges, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.