The gruesome murder of Laquan McDonald

The gruesome murder of Laquan McDonald

The gruesome murder of Laquan McDonald occurred in the hands of law enforcement officers on October 20, 2014, in Chicago, Illinois. The African American minor was brutally murdered through gunshots by Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke. In their initial reports, the police department had indicated that the use of force on him by the police was prompted by his erratic and reckless behavior that promoted the police to fire. In the police report, it was also indicated that the victim had refused to surrender his knife and that he wanted to attack the police. Law enforcement officers are, in most cases, exposed to self-harm as they routinely seek to serve and protect the people. In the case of MacDonald shooting, this would justify the use of force since officers are entitled to protect themselves against bodily harm when facing individuals who are armed and may pose harm to the officers. Further, the police officers have entitled to the right and an obligation to protect their lives as well as the general public against threats of harm, which may be occasioned by resistance from an offender.

However, in light of the murder of MacDonald, all the contexts do not add up. Thus, the revelations from Hanna and Park (2017), the actions by Van Dyke, were equal to the improper use of force. The manner in which he acted amounted to the use of deadly force that did not only cost the life of an innocent civilian but also unnecessarily endangered the lives of others. Additionally, based on the prevailing circumstances, the actions by Van Dyke that led to the death of McDonald is a justification for improper use of force by the police since the officer resorted to using a gun and excessive force in circumstances where shooting and other use of force were avoidable. As revealed by the court ruling, the actions by Van Dyke amounted to the battery with a firearm, which is not only against human rights but also subjected the victim to the untold level of torture: to the end death. Additionally, the court ruled that his actions amounted to second-degree murder. Thus the killing of McDonald by Van Dyke was intentional and could not be justified using any means since the armed officer sought to cause bodily harm to McDonald when the victim had surrendered already (Medina, 2015).

A report from toxicological examination revealed that McDonald’s blood and urine indicated that Toxicology reports later revealed that McDonald had phencyclidine (PCP), which is known to cause hallucination and other unusual behaviors. There toxicologist’s results thus justified that the use of force by the police officer was justified since the victim was under the influence of a hard drug and could have been dangerous to the police as well as the general public. The unqualified opinion of a defense expert hinted that the victim had taken a substantial amount of the drug to influence his behavior. However, following an inquiry by the Illinois Attorney General on the circumstances that culminated in the firing of the minor, it was established that Van Dyke had been involved in several cases of police brutality. The 2017 report by the Chicago Police Department indicated that Van Dyke had a culture of violence and use of excessive force on the civilians, even in circumstances where there were alternative avenues that would be used to amicably solve the problem at hand (Hanna &Park 2017).

In the video footage, it was recorded that McDonald was shot by the police officer 16 times with 13 gunshots on his back when he was already on the ground. The prosecution thus concluded that based on the autopsy results, the 13 shots were lauded on the victim when he was already on the ground and was then harmless. The medical examination report indicated that every shot contributed to the eventual fateful death of McDonald Laquan. Further, the findings by FBI experts on the incident indicated that the risk that McDonald posed to the security personnel did not match/warrant the use of deadly force that Van Dyke employed. Consequently, basing on the FBI findings, the police officer was involved in an improper use of force that led to the loss of innocent life. Further, the testimony from an eye witness: Jose Torres indicated that McDonald had surrendered and was moving away from the police officers when Van Dyke opened fire on him and continued to shoot at him several times even after he had fallen on the ground. The testimony indicates that the actions by Van Dyke were not in any way meant for self-defense but rather improper use of force on the civilian(s) (Miller, 2012). Further, according to the department of justice, shooting at suspects who are retreating or fleeing from the law enforcement officers and present no harm is unjustified and, therefore, equivalent to improper use of force. Thus since based on the views of the eye witness, the actions of Van Dyke were improper since the victim did not indicate any signs of attacking them.

References

Medina, J (December 8, 2015). “New Discrepancies in Laquan McDonald Case Archived January 30, 2016, at the Wayback Machine“. Dispatch Times.

Hanna, J. & Park, M (January 13, 2017). Chicago police use excessive force, DOJ finds, CNN

Miller, E. (2012). Race, Policing, and Lethal Force: Remedying Shooter Bias with Martial Arts Training. Illinois, Chicago USA