Nearly four years after the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, Chicago is preparing for the verdict in the high-profile murder trial of police Officer Jason Van Dyke.
Closing arguments began Thursday in the trial of the white officer facing two counts of first-degree murder, 16 counts of aggravated battery and one count of official misconduct for shooting and killing the black teenager. Van Dyke faces up to life in prison if convicted.
Video of the shooting released under a court order sparked protests in 2015, a Justice Department civil rights investigation, criticism of the city’s mayor and eventually the ouster of the police superintendent.
“For months, our plans around the trial verdict of Officer Jason Van Dyke have centered around community dialogue and partnership,” Chicago police said in a statement.
“The Chicago Police Department has a comprehensive operating plan to ensure public safety in all of our neighborhoods while simultaneously protecting the rights of peaceful demonstrations.”
Van Dyke is the first Chicago police officer to be charged with first-degree murder since 1980.
The Rev. Michael Pfleger, an activist priest and critic of the police department, took to social media Thursday to call for peaceful citywide demonstrations if the officer is acquitted.
“If Van Dyke is not convicted we are calling for a Peaceful Non-Violent SHUT DOWN of the City,” Pfleger said via Twitter. “Don’t go to work, school or spend any money shopping.”
Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson has placed officers on 12-hour shifts to “ensure a maximum level of coverage for closing arguments,” the department statement said.
The Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago recently alerted the hundreds of commercial office, institutional and public buildings as well as companies it represents that it was “reasonable to expect that the verdict may prompt additional protest activity.”
The association said it would closely monitor the city’s Emergency Operations Center, which is to activate when jury deliberations begin.
“It is important that buildings have a preparedness and response plan in place prior to the announcement of the jury’s verdict,” the statement said.
The public will likely have a two-hour notice before the verdict is announced in court, the association said.
“While most protesters simply want their message heard in a peaceful manner, experience in other cities has shown that protests can be infiltrated by instigators who deliberately want to ignite a confrontation, violence and property destruction,” the association said. “Instigators then leave, while others who may have come peacefully get caught up in the violence.”
Deliberations could continue into the weekend when the city will host Sunday’s Bank of America Chicago Marathon. The annual race brings nearly 2 million spectators and 40,000 runners to the streets of 29 neighborhoods.
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