Chicago Cop Charged in Death of Laquan McDonald Enters Non-Guilty Plea

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In this handout provided by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke poses for a mugshot photo after he was was arrested for the shooting death of an African-American teen in Chicago, Illinois. Van Dyke has been charged with first degree murder for shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times on October 20, 2014 after responding to a call of a knife wielding man who had threatened the complainant and was attempting to break into vehicles in a trucking yard. 

Photo by Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office via Getty Images

Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke, who faces a first-degree murder charge in the shooting death of black teen Laquan McDonald, entered a not-guilty plea at his Tuesday morning arraignment, the Chicago Tribune reports. 

According to the report, it is the first time that Van Dyke appeared before Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan, who is hearing the case. His charges include six counts of first-degree murder and one count official misconduct. As the Tribune notes, the indictment against Van Dyke earlier this month was the first time in over three decades that a Chicago officer has been charged with first-degree murder for an on-duty death.

Van Dyke was suspended without pay after he was charged. 

The Tribune notes that on Dec. 18, the officer’s lawyer, Daniel Herbert, mentioned that he was considering seeking a change of location out of Cook County, due to concerns, including Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s cmoments about the case and Van Dyke. 

The Chicago Sun-Times notes that Herbert has said before that Emanuel ““has essentially told everyone in the public, everyone in the City Council that my client actually murdered Mr. McDonald, and [that] he’s a bad apple and that he doesn’t belong in the police department and he committed acts that were indefensible.” 

Herbert has maintained that his client feared for his life when he shot the 17-year-old repeatedly, hitting him 16 times. 

Read more at the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times. 

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