U.S. attorney John Lausch said he will not prosecute Van Dyke, who was released from prison earlier this year after serving less than half his sentence.
A growing number of voices had called for Lausch to charge Van Dyke, including grassroots activists and members of Congress. Five women and four men who call themselves the “Laquan Nine”after protesting Van Dyke’s release outside the federal courthouse in Chicago.
William Calloway speaks during a Feb. 4 news conference with other community organizers, the day after their civil disobedience and arrests at the Dirksen Federal Building in Chicago.The Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repressionearlier this year calling on Lausch to bring charges against the former cop, saying the case “has been a travesty of justice through and through.
“It requires federal prosecutors to prove beyond a reasonable doubt what Mr. Van Dyke was thinking when he used deadly force, and that he knew such force was excessive,” the statement reads. “The federal law presents a very high bar ― more stringent than the state charges on which Mr. Van Dyke was convicted.”that activists will “continue to apply pressure” on Lausch, the Justice Department “and all the powers that be” until Van Dyke is federally prosecuted.
“Let me say this to U.S. Attorney John Lausch, because he clearly doesn’t understand: Sixteen bullets into Laquan’s body is a clear cut violation of his civil rights,” Kina Collins, a congressional candidate and one of the Laquan Nine, said in a statement to HuffPost. “A white officer shooting sixteen bullets into the body of a seventeen-year-old Black child — and then reloading his gun with more — warrants federal charges. End of discussion.
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