Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke (L) and his wife Tiffany Van Dyke (R) arrive at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago (Jim YOUNG)

Chicago (AFP) – The fate of a white Chicago cop who shot dead a black teen was to be handed to a jury Thursday, as the US city braced for a verdict in the controversial case.

Attorneys were to make their closing statements in the murder trial of Jason Van Dyke following 10 days of witness testimony. The jury would then receive instructions from the judge and begin deliberations. 

The 40-year-old officer faces two counts of murder, 16 counts of aggravated battery, and one count of official misconduct. 

As the trial neared an end, America’s third biggest city was on edge over the possibility that violence could break out if the officer is acquitted. Police and businesses were preparing for demonstrations. 

Van Dyke shot Laquan McDonald 16 times in 2014. Police dash-cam video shows the officer continuing to fire after the knife-wielding teen, who had not been obeying officers’ orders, falls to the ground. 

The video was not released until a year after the shooting, and only after a judge compelled city officials to do so. Months of protests followed along with accusations of an attempted cover up. 

The 17-year-old’s killing became emblematic of decades of police abuse in Chicago, and was one in a series of recent high-profile fatal encounters between US police and African Americans that led to the Black Lives Matter Movement.

On the video, McDonald appears to be walking away from officers when Van Dyke begins shooting. None of the nine other officers on the scene fired their weapons. 

At trial, which opened on September 17, defense lawyers argued that the video does not show Van Dyke’s perspective, and that the officer was acting in self-defense.

Van Dyke testified that he began shooting McDonald because he raised his knife and “never stopped” advancing. 

“His face had no expression. His eyes were just bugging out of his head. He had these huge white eyes just staring right through me,” the officer said.

Van Dyke’s attorneys urged jurors to consider the events leading up to the shooting, with McDonald acting erratically, high on PCP, ignoring officer’s orders, and puncturing a police cruiser’s tire when his path was blocked. 

The prosecution argued that Van Dyke shot the teen simply because he ignored police. Other officers were focused on containing McDonald until a non-lethal Taser weapon arrived at the scene to subdue him, lead prosecutor Joe McMahon said in his opening statement.

“Not a single shot was necessary or justified,” he said. 

Van Dyke simply saw “a black boy, walking down the street… and having the audacity to ignore the police.”

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