Did You Know...?

Q & A Fact Sheet on the Police Murder of Laquan McDonald and the Trial of the Killer Cop Van Dyke

September 24, 2018 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

 

Did you know that Laquan McDonald was shot 16 times by a cop while he was walking away with his arms at his sides—and that civilian eyewitnesses and a top expert on police use of force all said in court that Laquan posed absolutely no threat at all when he was gunned down?

Did you know that none of the at least seven officers on the scene gave Laquan first aid or even checked his condition, even though he was still alive after the shooting—as he lay there suffering from the bullets that tore through his body and shattered his bones? What does this say about how much those who “serve and protect” (this system) value human life?

Did you know that the officers on the scene conspired to cook up a phony story to defend their murdering fellow cop, Jason Van Dyke—lying outright in their report that Laquan was “swinging” the small knife he had in “an aggressive, exaggerated manner,” pointing it at Van Dyke, who “backpedaled” while firing his gun, and that Van Dyke continued to fire because Laquan, on the ground, was “continuing to point the knife” at the cop?

Did you know that Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the state’s attorney, the police “review” board, and the entire Chicago Police Department—including the superintendent, the deputy superintendent (who was promoted to be the current chief of police), and the commander in charge of the internal “investigation” of Laquan’s shooting (who was also promoted and then allowed to retire with full benefits even though the Inspector General’s office said he should be fired)—all covered up the video of Laquan’s murder and prevented it from going public for over a year?

Did you know that of the at least seven officers on the scene, and many others in the CPD, up to the chief of police, involved in the cover-up of Laquan’s murder, only three aside from Van Dyke are charged with anything at all?

Did you know that the newspapers and media have given all kinds of sympathetic coverage to Van Dyke, including extensive interviews (in violation of a court gag order) with the Chicago Tribune and the local Fox TV channel?

Did you know there is only ONE Black person on a jury of 12 in the Van Dyke trial, in a city where more than one in four people are Black?

Did you know that the prosecutor—whose job supposedly is to get convictions—is doing the opposite, like putting on the stand Van Dyke’s cop partner, who then acted out for the jury the scenario about Laquan raising his knife in a “threatening” way (a lie that was exposed by the video)?

Did you know that while Van Dyke’s lawyers demonize Laquan as a “violent” person who had been on a “wild rampage” before he was shot, the prosecution has done nothing to bring out Laquan’s humanity and how he is remembered by family and friends as a kid with a big sense of humor who, as a cousin said, “kept everyone together and smiling”?

Did you know that the judge forbade the prosecution from using the word “victim” to describe Laquan through the main part of the trial?

Did you know that a Latino man and his son, who saw Van Dyke shoot Laquan in cold blood, were told to go away by the police on the scene—and later stepped forward to tell what they had witnessed because they thought justice was not being done?

Did you know that Trump’s white supremacist attorney general, Jeff Sessions, has come to the Chicago area twice during the Van Dyke trial to blame protesters for the rise in violence among the people and promote the idea that cops should have no restraints put on them?

Now consider these questions:

What would have happened if one of our youth had been righteously defending themselves against such a wanton police attack? If that youth were even still alive, what kind of media coverage would they be given? How much time would they spend walking the streets free on bail before and during the trial? How much latitude would their lawyers be given in court?

And here are three more questions: What kind of system does this not just to Laquan McDonald but to Black and Latino youth more generally? Why is that system legitimate? And what must be done to that system?

For answers to those questions, go to WWW.REVCOM.US.

Justice for Laquan McDonald!
Convict Van Dyke and Throw Him in Jail—
The Whole Damn System Is GUILTY AS HELL!

Revolution Club, Chicago
(312) 804-9121
Revclub.chi@gmail.com
Facebook.com/revclubchi/
1857 E. 71st Street
Chicago, Illinois 60649

Laquan McDonald was murdered by Chicago police. His murder was covered up for a year. His killer is now on trial. Do you know the real facts about his life, his case, and his trial?

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