CHICAGO _ Former Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke is scheduled to be sentenced Friday for the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, closing one of the most racially fraught and socially significant chapters in recent Chicago history.
The highly anticipated sentencing comes with added tension one day after Cook County Judge Domenica Stephenson acquitted three Chicago police officers of all charges alleging they conspired to shield Van Dyke from scrutiny in McDonald's killing.
In October, a jury convicted Van Dyke of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery _ one for each bullet that riddled McDonald's body _ after a four-week trial. The verdict marked the first time in more than 50 years that a Chicago police officer had been convicted of murder for an on-duty incident.
Van Dyke shot McDonald as the teen, high on PCP, walked down Pulaski Road ignoring commands to drop a knife he was holding. The court-ordered release of a police dashboard camera video of the shooting roiled the city, leading to a political reckoning and police reforms.
Some experts believe Van Dyke, 40, could face as much as 96 years in prison, though debate in the legal community continues over the precise sentencing range.
The ex-patrol officer's defense team has asked for probation, while the prosecution has given its blessing for a sentence that could result in Van Dyke's freedom while he's still young enough to rebuild his life. Special prosecutor Joseph McMahon has not made a specific recommendation on how many years Van Dyke should be incarcerated, but a memorandum he filed this week outlined a way for the officer to be sentenced to 18 years in prison.
The final decision rests with Judge Vincent Gaughan, a veteran jurist who has given no public indication of how he will structure Van Dyke's punishment.
Gaughan's decision comes a day after his colleague, Stephenson, issued a surprisingly brutal takedown of the prosecution case in acquitting retired Detective David March, ex-patrolman Joseph Walsh and Officer Thomas Gaffney on all charges.
Stephenson made much of the fact that the infamous police dashboard camera video did not show the shooting from the vantage of Van Dyke or his partner, Walsh _ a note that Van Dyke's attorneys also emphasized at his trial, though without success.
Stephenson also suggested that Van Dyke and Walsh could have had a reasonable fear for their safety and should not be second-guessed "as to what they should have believed."
Van Dyke's jury disagreed with her assessment, finding that Van Dyke's belief that he was justified in shooting McDonald was unwarranted.
In the Van Dyke case, both the defense and prosecution positions on sentencing reflect the unique nature of the case given that Van Dyke, a longtime public servant, has no previous criminal record. The defense argued that police officers face difficult circumstances in prison, a point McMahon also has acknowledged in the three months since Van Dyke's conviction.
Police officers often are segregated from the prison population for their safety, though studies have shown long-term isolation to be detrimental to inmates. Since his conviction, Van Dyke has been in solitary confinement in the Rock Island County Jail _ rather than in Cook County _ since October in order to better protect him.
To bolster its probation request, the defense legal team filed dozens of letters written by Van Dyke's friends and relatives, including his wife, daughters and parents. His daughters, ages 17 and 12, both asked Gaughan for leniency, saying their family has suffered tremendously since the verdict.
Van Dyke's younger daughter described how she has nightmares and cannot concentrate at school. His older daughter wrote that she has struggled with depression since the trial and cries herself to sleep each night wondering if her father has enough blankets and food in prison.
Van Dyke lost his law-enforcement certification following his conviction.
