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The white Chicago police officer whose fatal shooting of Black teen Laquan McDonald put the city at the center of a national debate about race and law enforcement is set to be released from prison next month after serving less than half of the 81-month sentence imposed three years ago.
Kahalah Clay, chief legal counsel for the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, confirmed that Jason Van Dyke — who was convicted in October 2018 in the killing of the 17-year-old— will be released from prison on Feb. 3. She said she did not know where Van Dyke was being held.
McDonald’s great uncle, Rev. Marvin Hunter, told media outlets over the weekend that authorities had notified him of Van Dyke’s pending release.
“I’m hoping he’s learned the errors of his ways. I have always asked for justice and not revenge,” Hunter told the Chicago Sun-Times. “We got as much justice you could get with the players that were there at the time he was on trial.”
The news of Van Dyke’s release after 39 months angered some community activists, about a dozen of whom protested at a train station on Chicago’s South Side. Read more.
