Jury convicts Chicago cop in shooting
A federal jury handed down a historic verdict Monday, convicting a veteran Chicago police officer for using unreasonable force and wounding two teenagers in an on-duty shooting caught on video in December 2013.
Marco Proano, 42, now faces significant prison time for firing 16 shots in nine seconds at a stolen Toyota Avalon full of teenagers at 95th and LaSalle. His sentencing has been set for Nov. 20. Prosecutors described the shooting as "a gross abuse of the power he's been given."
It took jurors less than four hours to find Proano guilty of two civil rights violations. Proano showed no obvious reaction to the jury's verdict. He later shook hands with his lawyers and ultimately left the Dirksen Federal Courthouse without commenting.
"The vast majority of Chicago police officers do their job with vigilance and with respect for the constitutional rights of the citizens that they protect," Acting U.S. Attorney Joel Levin said after the verdict was read. "In this situation, that's not what Marco Proano did."
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