NAACP urges federal charges in killing of Laquan McDonald

The NAACP the nation’s oldest civil rights organization, on Tuesday urged Attorney General Merrick Garland to bring federal civil rights charges against the white Chicago police officer who fatally shot Black teenager Laquan McDonald.

The letter, sent by NAACP President Derrick Johnson, comes days before Officer Jason Van Dyke is scheduled to be released from prison after serving less than half of his state prison term. Van Dyke was convicted in October 2018 in the killing of McDonald and is scheduled to be released from an Illinois prison on Thursday.

The 2014 shooting prompted massive protests in Chicago after a judge forced the city to release video that showed Van Dyke shooting McDonald 16 times. Many of the shots were fired when the 17-year-old was already on the ground. The police superintendent was subsequently fired, the county’s top prosecutor was voted out of office and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who was widely criticized for his handling of the case, decided not to run for reelection.

The Justice Department opened a wide investigation into the practices of the Chicago Police Department after McDonald’s killing, which resulted in a blistering report that found Chicago officers routinely used excessive force and violated the rights of residents, particularly minorities. The agency also opened a federal probe into the shooting.

But years after the announcement, civil rights leaders, including Johnson, want the Justice Department to move now to bring federal charges against Van Dyke.

“Given the egregious nature of his crime, the NAACP believes that at a minimum, the murderous officer should be charged with a federal civil rights violation under Title 18, U.S.C., Section 242 — Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law,” Johnson wrote in the letter to Garland.

To bring federal civil rights charges, federal prosecutors must prove that an officer’s actions willfully broke the law and were not simply the result of a mistake, negligence or bad judgment. It has been a consistently tough burden for federal prosecutors to meet across both Democratic and Republican administrations.

“Throughout our 113-year history, the NAACP has advocated for a fair and equitable justice system that holds those fully accountable for their actions,” Johnson wrote. “We have seen unfair and inequitable favor given to law enforcement officers who unjustly take the lives of members of the Black community and have fought fervently in opposition to such favor.”

U.S. Rep. Bobby L. Rush, D-Ill., and the Rev. Jesse Jackson have been among those objecting to Van Dyke’s release and have also called on the Justice Department to bring federal charges.

A spokesperson for the Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.