Candidates and Officials Brace for Verdict in Jason Van Dyke Trial

Laquan McDonald’s, graduation photo alongside officer Jason Van Dyke’s mugshot

By Katara Patton

Several community leaders have made statements regarding responses to the verdict in the Jason Van Dyke trial. Van Dyke is on trial for first degree murder for shooting Laquan McDonald 16 times in 2014. Leaders are speaking about possible protests and unrest if Van Dyke is found not guilty of the charges. The Chicago Defender will update our site regularly with statements from political candidates, officials and community leaders.

AMARA ENYIA STATEMENT ON VAN DYKE TRIAL

Chicago mayoral candidate Amara Enyia

CHICAGO (Oct. 2, 2018) — “The killing of 17-year old Laquan McDonald and the collective attempt to sweep his death under the rug by the current administration should outrage every single resident of the City of Chicago. Laquan McDonald represents the collective failures of our current leadership – failures to invest equitably in education, failure to ensure affordable housing, failure to ensure he had adequate access to mental health services, failure to implement the necessary reforms that would create a culture of accountability to which police officers would adhere. Chicagoans have had enough.

A failure to achieve justice for McDonald and for all of Chicago should be cause for action. We must channel our outrage by pushing for the drastic changes in policy and in leadership – at all levels. That commitment to real change is what justice is about and is the only way to create the kind of results the ensure no other child suffers the fate that Laquan McDonald suffered. And it is the best way to ensure that his death was not in vain.”

This article originally appeared in the Chicago Defender.