Jason Van Dyke is being released from prison after serving just 40 months of his 81-month sentence for the killing of Laquan McDonald. What happens next? We hear from McDonald’s family about Van Dyke’s release and their reflections on the last
Judge Vincent Gaughan sentences Jason Van Dyke to 81 months in prison. It means he’ll likely serve about 3 years. The officer celebrates with his attorneys. Young activists are angry and struggle to make sense of it.
Judge Domenica Stephenson finds 3 Chicago police officers did not lie in their reports to cover-up for Jason Van Dyke the night he killed Laquan McDonald. Defense attorneys call her courageous. Activist Will Calloway says the code of silence ex
Defense attorneys present just one witness and some documents. That comes after 7 prosecution witnesses over 4 days. The sides make their closing arguments and Judge Domenica Stephenson says she’ll announce a verdict December 19.
Attorneys give their opening statements in the conspiracy trial of officers who were on the scene when Jason Van Dyke killed Laquan McDonald and a detective who led the investigation of the shooting. We take a closer look at the judge who will
A month and a half after Jason Van Dyke was convicted of murder, three other Chicago police officers face charges of conspiring to cover-up for him. Prosecutors say the officers’ reports exaggerated the threat Laquan McDonald posed. Defense att
On the Sunday after the verdict, we go to two Chicago churches in very different neighborhoods and hear their very different takes on Van Dyke, the shooting and the trial. We hear from Laquan’s friends and are surprised at what we find when we
The jurors talk to reporters about why they convicted Van Dyke. Activists express thanks for the guilty verdict and Van Dyke’s attorney Dan Herbert says cops are now going to stay in their cars.
After four days of defense witnesses, one key person has not testified: Officer Jason Van Dyke. We explore the potential costs and benefits of Van Dyke testifying and we look at a previous police shooting in which he gave testimony under oath.
A truck driver who called 911 took the witness stand and described fighting off a knife-wielding man moments before Officer Jason Van Dyke fatally shot Laquan McDonald.
The third day of testimony in the murder trial of Officer Jason Van Dyke focused on Laquan McDonald’s autopsy. We also explore the demeanor of Judge Vincent Gaughan.
The prosecution continued to call witnesses Tuesday, including Jason Van Dyke’s partner the night of the shooting. We bring you more details from the second day of testimony.
In opening statements, prosecutors said Officer Jason Van Dyke didn’t need to shoot and the defense said Laquan McDonald was out of control. We bring you more from the first day of testimony.
The 12 jurors and 5 alternates have been picked to decide Jason Van Dyke’s fate. With only one black juror, the racial makeup is controversial. We explore how the jurors were picked -- and what we know about them.
Judge Vincent Gaughan began to interview potential jurors on Monday. The first five were selected. We discuss what the prosecution and defense are looking for.NOTE: A previous version of this episode contained an error. It was about the defense
CPD Officer Jason Van Dyke was briefly taken into custody Thursday because of what he said to the media. Meanwhile, the city of Chicago reached an agreement on sweeping reforms in the police department that will be enforced by a federal court j