Officer Van Dyke speaks out for the first time since shooting Laquan McDonald 16 times
In his first interview in the nearly four years since the shooting, Van Dyke spoke with the Tribune for about 40 minutes Tuesday at his lawyer’s downtown offices. Occasionally looking at handwritten notes, he would not discuss the shooting or its aftermath.
Instead, he brought copies of his commendations, suggested he was a political scapegoat and decried “the bandwagon of hatred” on social media.
With jury selection set to begin next week, he acknowledged a pressing desire to challenge the image many paint of him as a racist, trigger-happy cop who was indifferent to taking the life of a troubled 17-year-old.
“I pray every day” for McDonald’s family, said Van Dyke, who is Catholic. “I offer up a rosary every day.”
Van Dyke appeared uncomfortable in the spotlight, often pausing for long periods and struggling for his words in an interview that was tightly controlled by his attorneys and the public relations strategist hired by his defense team. His lawyers requested questions to be submitted in advance, would not allow the conversation to be recorded on video and interrupted some questions to instruct Van Dyke not to answer.
On several occasions, including as he described his fear of a lengthy prison sentence, he stopped to wipe away tears.
“Of course, I’m extremely nervous,” he said. “I might be looking at the possibility of spending the rest of my life in prison for doing my job as I was trained as a Chicago police officer.”
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