CHICAGO — Federal prosecutors will not bring any case against the former Chicago police officer who killed 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, U.S. Attorney John Lausch’s office announced Monday.
Jason Van Dyke has already been tried and convicted in Cook County court for McDonald’s death, and federal law sets an extraordinarily high bar to prove civil rights violations in such a case — “more stringent than the state charges on which Mr. Van Dyke was convicted,” according to a statement from Lausch’s office.
“Federal prosecutors would need to prove to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Van Dyke willfully deprived Mr. McDonald of a constitutional right,” the statement read. “To do that, prosecutors would have to prove not only that Mr. Van Dyke acted with the deliberate and specific intent to do something the law forbids, but also that his actions were not the result of mistake, fear, negligence or bad judgment.”
