CHICAGO _ Convicted Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke was transferred Tuesday to a county jail three hours west of Chicago where he will be held as a high-profile detainee pending sentencing, sheriff officials said.
Rock Island County Sheriff Gerry Bustos said Van Dyke arrived at the jail early Tuesday afternoon and was in the process of being booked. Bustos said Van Dyke will be held in protective custody out of the general population of the jail, located about 180 miles from Chicago on the Iowa border.
The move was part of an arrangement that Cook County has with other jails to move prisoners who are either high profile, dangerous or working as cooperating witnesses in other cases, according to Cara Smith, chief policy officer for Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart.
There are 45 detainees on that list, including Shomari Legghette, who is awaiting trial in the slaying of Chicago police Cmdr. Paul Bauer, Smith said.
Van Dyke was convicted by a jury Friday of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm in the October 2014 shooting death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.
After the verdict came down, Van Dyke's bond was revoked and he was taken into custody at Cook County Jail, where he underwent a routine psychological examination and was held for four nights in a cell at the Cermak Health Services jail infirmary, according to Smith.
Smith said the decision to transfer Van Dyke to Rock Island was based on his high-profile status, not on any threats or concern for his safety.
"There were absolutely no incidents at Cook County Jail," Smith said. "It was completely uneventful."
Smith said Van Dyke had no visitors during his four-night stay at the jail. Friends and family who want to visit Van Dyke in Rock Island will have to go through that jail's visitation system, she said.
Rock Island Jail, along the Mississippi River, averages about 260 inmates and can house up to about 330, according to the county sheriff's website.
