Chicago • A jury on Friday convicted white Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke of second-degree murder in the 2014 shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald.
Van Dyke was charged with first degree-murder in the October 2014 killing, a charge that requires a finding that the shooting was unnecessary and unreasonable. The judge told jurors the second-degree charge was also available, requiring them to find Van Dyke believed his life was in danger but that the belief was unreasonable.
Jurors also convicted him of aggravated battery, but acquitted him of official misconduct. It's the first time in half a century that a Chicago police officer has been convicted of murder for an on-duty death.