COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A Cook County judge on Monday agreed to convene a grand jury to hear evidence against Chicago Police officers on the scene the night Laquan McDonald was killed.
The 17-year-old was gunned down by Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke in Archer Heights in October 2014. Van Dyke, 38, now faces charges of first-degree murder and official misconduct.
No other officers have been criminally charged in the case. Judge LeRoy K. Martin Jr. in July appointed longtime attorney Patricia Brown Holmes to serve as a special prosecutor who will investigate other officers.
During a court hearing Monday, Holmes asked Judge Martin to convene a grand jury to hear evidence against said officers, the Sun-Times reported.
The judge agreed — and said he planned to call the jury by the end of September, according to media reports.
Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson last month moved to have Van Dyke and several other officers fired over allegations they lied following the shooting of McDonald.
The teen had been stealing car radios and was armed with a three-inch blade on Oct. 20, 2014, when Chicago Police officers in Archer Heights called in a radio request for a Taser, prosecutors have said.
Van Dyke and his partner responded to the call, but never specified whether they had a Taser. Within seconds of arriving on the scene, Van Dyke pulled his gun and emptied his clip into McDonald, shooting the teen 16 times. Video of the shooting, which was released via a court order in November 2015, sparked citywide protests that shut down the Mag Mile.
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