Justice
For Once, Racism Didn’t Work in Defending a Chicago Police Officer
The police officer who killed Laquan McDonald was convicted on Friday, despite a "Black Boogeyman" stereotype he cited to justify his fear of the unarmed teenager.
When Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke testified in his own defense about why he shot Laquan McDonald, killing him with 16 shots, Van Dyke said he felt that his life was threatened, based off a look on the African-American teenager’s face.
“His eyes were just bugging out of his head,” said Van Dyke. “He had just these huge white eyes just staring right through me.”