Nearly four years after he killed Chicago teenager Laquan McDonald, police officer Jason Van Dyke suggested he was a political scapegoat and decried “the bandwagon of hatred” on social media, reports the Chicago Tribune. With jury selection in his case set for next week, Van Dyke, 40, gave his first interview, acknowledging 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. Van Dyke would not discuss details of the shooting but he signaled what will likely be a key part of his defense, repeating several times that he had never before fired his gun while working in Chicago’s most dangerous neighborhoods for more than a dozen years.
[Image via Cook County State Attorney’s Office]
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