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Ex-Chicago police officer sentenced to over 6 years in Laquan McDonald killing

by Chris Mills Rodrigo - 01/18/19 7:29 PM ET

Former Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke was sentenced on Friday to 6 years and nine months in prison for the murder of Laquan McDonald in 2014, The Associated Press reported.

Judge Vincent Gaughan handed the sentence down three months after Van Dyke was convicted for second-degree murder in the killing of the 17-year-old black teenager.

Van Dyke shot McDonald 16 times on Oct. 20, 2014.{mosads}

Three other officers were charged in 2017 with conspiracy to cover up the murder after a dashcam video of the shooting was released. They were acquitted of those charges on Thursday.

In 2015, in the aftermath of the shooting and subsequent release of dashcam footage, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) fired the city’s police superintendent amid widespread outcry.

Cook County’s top prosecutor was also voted out of office months later amid controversy over their defense of police actions in the case.

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