GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT

Pumping 16 bullets into a teen forfeits the benefit of doubt.

Let’s start with the obvious. Chicago cop Jason Van Dyke is a cold-blooded murderer.

No matter the shoddy rehabilitation-of-his-character attempt, sanctioned and enabled by the sometime flailing Chicago Tribune. No matter predictable lying by Chicago cops who were on the scene October 20, 2014, themselves now facing legal trouble for falsifying police reports.

Van Dyke deserves the same treatment that will be meted out to Shomari Legghette, the thug who shot and killed Chicago Police Department (CPD) Cmdr. Paul Bauer last February. Van Dyke, himself a thug, should be presumed guilty and on his way to spending the rest of his life in prison.

Van Dyke is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, 16 counts of aggravated battery and one count of official misconduct.

Since the release of the infamous video, the mighty have fallen like bowling pins at the mercy of a 16-pound ball. (For some reason the video is referred to as “the Laquan McDonald video” when it should be called “the Van Dyke murders McDonald video” or minimally the “Van Dyke-McDonald video.”)

First to topple was then-Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, who is now trying for a measure of payback by running for mayor.

Next came Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, who’s initial paddy-caking with the explosive case created a wave of voters who, like a bowling ball, flattened her, running Alvarez out of office during the first election after the video was released.

And just recently, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who committed political suicide by orchestrating a year-long cover up of the Van Dyke-McDonald video, announced he will not seek re-election.

For Emanuel, the Van Dyke-McDonald video giveth and taketh away. Emanuel’s video cover-up enabled him to carry enough of the black vote to win re-election. And now the video, released and seen over and over ‘round the world, is forcing Emanuel to step down when his term ends, his relationship with the black community (and truth-and-justice-seekers across Chicago) in tatters.

Volume is turned up

But much of the above is just noise, noise that can distract from the murder trial of Jason Van Dyke, which finally began this week after four years of stalling.

As anyone with a mobile device and cable TV knows, we live in a bombast-driven, noisy society that causes focus to pull in one direction, and then abruptly in another direction.

The Trump presidency is an example of this; using noise (e.g. “fake news!”) to distract from the reality that the Mueller investigation is methodically indicting and obtaining guilty pleas from high ranking officials closer and closer to Trump.

And, so it goes with the Van Dyke murder trial. Noise, and lots of it, attempting to distract from what really matters.

Noise, like Van Dyke is a married father of two daughters. Noise, like how long Van Dyke stood alone in the shower after he murdered a child.

Noise, like how many commendations (53) Van Dyke has received, or how many complaints (20) he’s received, one of which resulted in the city paying out $350,000 to a black motorist roughed up by Van Dyke. Van Dyke has been sued three times, twice successfully. How does he still have a job?

(A side note; Chicago just agreed to pay $16 million to the family of Bettie Jones, an innocent bystander killed by another out-of-control Chicago cop, Robert Rialmo. For a city in dire financial shape, Chicago sure coughs up a lot of money – over the years a total of around $750 million according to chicagobusiness.com and the Chicago Reporter – for police misconduct.)

Back to the noise, noise like, prior to the night he killed McDonald, Van Dyke had never fired his gun.

Noise, like Van Dyke shedding tears, during his character-rehabilitation interview with the Chicago Tribune, about the prospect of going to prison.

Noise, like Van Dyke is on unpaid suspension, with no benefits, and now works as a janitor at the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police lodge. The CFOP is providing financial and vocal support for Van Dyke.

Noise, apparently to garner sympathy, that Van Dyke wears a bullet-proof vest to the courthouse.

Noise, like Van Dyke claims he prays daily for McDonald’s family. (Sorry, but I do not believe that.)

Noise, that Van Dyke’s beat was in some of Chicago’s toughest neighborhoods. (So, what? McDonald lived in some of Chicago’s toughest neighborhoods.)

Noise, that McDonald was high on PCP the night he was murdered.

Noise, that McDonald slashed a police SUV’s tire (he did).

Noise, that McDonald’s mother was only 15-years old when she gave birth to McDonald and the father was absent from McDonald’s life.

Noise, that McDonald, struggling in school with disciplinary problems, nonetheless impressed his teachers, loved his family and had a good sense of humor.

Noise, that McDonald occasionally sold pot and had been arrested 26 times since the age of 13 (he was 17-years old the night he was killed).

Noise, that Chicago paid McDonald’s family $5 million even before the family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city.

Noise, coming from protesters across the street from the Leighton Criminal Court Building.

At the proverbial end of the day all the noise, even when the decibel level is fever-pitched, does not matter. What matters is what happened, in a few minutes, the night of October 20, 2014.

The facts envelope, please

Police were trailing McDonald, who had been breaking into vehicles attempting to steal radios. He was being followed by an officer on foot and an officer in a squad vehicle. The officer trailing McDonald on foot said he was 10-15 feet behind McDonald, with his gun drawn. The squad vehicle drove slowly alongside.

Prior to Van Dyke’s arrival on scene, McDonald was cornered by a construction fence on his right and six squad cars and 10 armed cops. He had nowhere to go.

Police dispatch had already called for nearby police to come to the scene with a Taser to diffuse the situation. “We were trying to buy time to have a Taser,” testified Officer Joseph McElligott. “McDonald didn’t make any direct movement at me.”

Officer Dora Fontaine said she arrived on scene just before Van Dyke. She testified McDonald did not attempt to stab anyone or “make aggressive movements.” In fact, as the video clearly shows, McDonald was walking away from Van Dyke and the other cops. (For some reason, the Chicago Tribune continually insists on reporting that McDonald appeared to be walking away from Van Dyke. No, he was walking away from Van Dyke.)

As corroborated by the video, Officer Fontaine witnessed Van Dyke pump bullets into McDonald as he lay motionless on the ground. Fontaine did not draw her weapon.

After unloading his weapon, a mere six seconds after getting out of his SUV squad – intently dispensing all 16 available bullets into McDonald - Van Dyke had the temerity to begin reloading. He only stopped reloading when his partner told him to stop. What was Van Dyke intending to do, pump more lead into a mortally wounded 17-year old kid?

Maybe Tupac’s lyric was playing in Van Dyke’s head, “cops give a damn ‘bout a Negro, pull the trigger kill a [black man], be a hero.”

A Cook County sheriff who arrived at the scene, Adam Murphy, and his partner, went to where McDonald was lying – dying – to see if they could provide first aid. And what were the Chicago cops doing? Standing around talking as if they were waiting for coffee and doughnuts.

Sheriff Murphy began speaking with Van Dyke, who was pacing back and forth. As Murphy spoke to Van Dyke, several Chicago cops came up to Van Dyke and told him to “call your union rep.” That pretty much sums it up. Start the cover up.

Ex-Officer Joseph Walsh, Van Dyke’s partner the night McDonald was killed, faces trial in November for obstruction of justice, official misconduct and conspiracy. Chicago’s Office of the Inspector General concluded Walsh, along with two other officers, submitted falsified police reports, attempting to stop or influence any criminal investigation.

On Day 2 of the Van Dyke trial, Walsh continued lying, while under oath, telling jurors McDonald was headed toward a Dunkin’ Doughnuts when in fact THE VIDEO shows McDonald was walking the opposite direction, his path to Dunkin’ already blocked by police vehicles.

Witness Xavier Torres spoke truth-to-power, testifying McDonald walked away from police. “It looked like he was trying to get away from the officers,” said Torres. To the question of whether McDonald made threatening movements, Torres answered, “No.”

During the trial’s opening arguments, Van Dyke’s lead attorney, Daniel Herbert, brought more noise in a lame reach for sympathy, describing Van Dyke as a model citizen who makes breakfast for his family, kisses his wife goodbye and took care of a “honey do” list before heading to work the night he killed McDonald.

Noise versus facts. That is the challenge for the jury, made up of eight women and four men. Sift through the noise to get to, and only focus on, the facts.

Crystal-clear summation

In this trial, the facts are so conspicuous they outshout whatever noise is generated by the defense, empathetic media, sympathetic citizens or rogue members of the Chicago Police Union and Chicago Fraternal Order of Police. (Not saying all cops are rogue, but the tired refrain “99% of cops are good cops” is simply not true. As we know factually, at least four cops at the McDonald murder scene lied about what happened, in a coordinated code-of-silence cover up attempt.)

Admittedly, what I am about to say goes against the grain of our judicial system, which is ruled by the principle of presumed innocence until proven guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt.

But in the Jason Van Dyke murder trial, the presumption of innocence went out the window when we all saw THE VIDEO.

Presumed innocence was thrown overboard when Officer McElligott, Officer Fontaine and witness Torres testified McDonald threatened no one and did not aggressively charge at anyone.

Innocence surrendered when, an enraged Van Dyke started to reload, apparently intent on firing more bullets into the body of a dying teenager, a boy every bit a teen as are students at Stoneman-Douglas High School.

Jason Van Dyke is guilty of murder unless proven innocent.

And it should be impossible to find innocence with the combination of THE VIDEO, opening-day testimony of police officers and Day 2 testimony of a witness, all of whom testified it is a bald-faced lie that Van Dyke, or anyone else, was threatened by Laquan McDonald.

This was intentional, cold-blooded murder. Overkill, as proven by 16 shots and an attempt to reload.

The janitorial experience Van Dyke is receiving working at the police lodge will serve him well if he goes to prison. To borrow a phrase from Trump, and his former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn, himself about to go to prison, “lock him up!”

Douglas FreelandSeptember 20, 2018