Former Chicago Officer Sentenced to 6 3/4 Years for Death of Laquan McDonald

Former Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke was sentenced to 6 Âľ years in prison Friday for the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald.

Staff Writer
January 18, 2019

Former Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke was sentenced to 6 Âľ years in prison Friday for the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.

After a daylong hearing, Judge Vincent Gaughan sentenced Van Dyke only on the second-degree murder conviction, finding that it was the more serious crime and the 16 aggravated battery convictions should "merge" into it for sentencing purposes, reports the Chicago Tribune.

That decision means Van Dyke will serve half of the sentence -- less than 3 1/2 years in prison.

In his closing argument, special prosecutor Joseph McMahon had asked Gaughan to sentence Van Dyke to 18 to 20 years for Laquan McDonald’s murder.

The highly anticipated sentencing came one day after Cook County Judge Domenica Stephenson acquitted three Chicago police officers of all charges alleging they conspired to shield Van Dyke from scrutiny in McDonald's killing.

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