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Van Dyke will be released from prison next month

Posted January 14, 2022 12:00 am

Chicago Sun-Times

Former Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke watches the prosecution's closing statements during his murder trial for shooting Laquan McDonald. Associated Press/October 2018

Former Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke will leave prison next month after serving more than three years for the murder of Laquan McDonald.

Van Dyke's release is set for Feb. 3, having served three years, three months and nine days of the 81-month sentence handed down after his 2018 conviction for second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery - one for each bullet he fired at the 17-year-old McDonald as the teen fled from police across a Southwest Side intersection the night of Oct. 20, 2014.

Van Dyke, 43, abandoned appeals of his conviction a year into his sentence, apparently wanting to serve out his time and not endure more of the public controversy and media attention that extended from the night - a year after the shooting - when video of McDonald's death was released to the public and the three years it took for his case to go to trial.

• For the full story, visit chicago.suntimes.com.

Former Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke attends his sentencing hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago. Associated Press/Jan. 18, 2019

People react outside Chicago City Hall after a jury convicted Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke of second-degree murder in the 2014 shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald. Associated Press/Oct. 5, 2018

A tombstone marks the grave of Laquan McDonald at the Forest Home Cemetery in Forest Park. Associated Press file photo

Laquan McDonald was shot 16 times by Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke on Oct. 20, 2014.

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