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Van Dyke Indicted on 6 Murder Counts for Laquan McDonald Shooting

By  Alex Nitkin and Erica Demarest | December 17, 2015 7:45am | Updated on December 17, 2015 2:14pm

 Officer Jason Van Dyke (inset) and in hoodie, was released Nov. 30 on bond from Cook County Jaill.
Officer Jason Van Dyke (inset) and in hoodie, was released Nov. 30 on bond from Cook County Jaill.
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DNAinfo/Erica Demarest

COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke was indicted on six counts of first-degree murder and one count of official misconduct for the October 2014 shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, according to court records.

Van Dyke was released on bail on Nov. 30, six days after being arrested on a single murder charge for the shooting. Van Dyke is set to return Friday to the Leighton Criminal Court Building, where prosecutors will announce the indictment.

It is common for prosecutors to charge multiple counts in a single murder, using different legal theories. The end goal is that Van Dyke will be found guilty on at least one of the counts.

The six counts of first-degree murder in this case include allegations that Van Dyke:

• intentionally shot Laquan McDonald while armed with a gun

• shot Laquan McDonald while armed with a gun, knowing that such an act created a strong probability of death or great bodily harm

• personally fired his gun, as he intentionally shot Laquan McDonald while armed with a gun

• personally fired his gun, as he shot Laquan McDonald while armed with a gun, knowing that such an act created a strong possibility of death or great bodily harm

• personally fired his gun, proximately causing death, while intentionally shooting Laquan McDonald while armed with a gun

• and personally fired his gun, proximately causing death, as he shot Laquan McDonald while armed with a gun, knowing that such an act created a strong probability of death or great bodily harm

Jason Van Dyke Indictment

The original charge against Van Dyke was announced the same day as the court-ordered release of a dashcam video showing the officer shoot McDonald 16 times in Archer Heights. Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez said she sped up the charges "in the interest of public safety."

The video's release kicked up a citywide firestorm over the city's handling of police misconduct, leading Mayor Rahm Emanuel to fire Police Supt. Garry McCarthy and appoint a new head of the Independent Police Review Authority, which is responsible for investigating officer-involved shootings.

But those moves have done little to quell near-daily protests calling for both Emanuel and Alvarez to resign over the 13-month delay in charges being brought against Van Dyke.

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