Live Updates: Jason Van Dyke Murder Trial; Defense Begins Its Case
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Defense attorneys started presenting evidence today at the murder trial of Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke, charged in the 2014 shooting death of Laquan McDonald.
Van Dyke's attorneys are expected to call several expert witnesses to back up his assertion he shot the teenager in self-defense. Among the experts likely to be called are one in the police use of force, a forensic pathologist, and a psychologist.
Defense attorneys said their case is likely to stretch into early next week. It's unclear yet if Van Dyke will testify in his own defense.
Protests outside #jasonvandyke murder trial as defense begins to make its case. @cbschicago pic.twitter.com/Tk7tI8394T
— Mike Puccinelli (@mikepuccinelli) September 24, 2018
Meantime, there were protests and prayers outside the courthouse. Protesters wanted to make sure their voices are heard as the defense makes its case that the shooting was justified.
Several different groups held news conferences, saying they plan to sure Laquan McDonald is not put on trial by the defense.
"He (Jason Van Dyke) had no knowledge of Laquan McDonald's prior record. He had no knowledge of who he was. He didn't know his name. He didn't know nothing. So why did he shoot him? Well, the only evidence that we've had is that he's a young, black male," said Frank Chapman, with the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.
Police officers formed a human barrier in front of the courthouse to make sure protesters did not block the steps leading inside.
Across the street, the Good Kids Mad City anti-violence organization held a news conference in an area set up by police to make sure protesters are kept apart from people making their way into court.
Van Dyke didn't see any of the protesters' signs or hear their chants on Monday, as he entered the building, surrounded by police, about an hour before the first demonstrators arrived.
CBS 2 has live updates.
Watch the trial live:
2:10 p.m.
Court adjourned for the day after four defense witnesses, including three who described violent encounters with Laquan McDonald.
1:55 p.m.
Miguel DeJesus, an employee at the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center, describes an encounter with Laquan McDonald in January 2014. DeJesus said McDonald told him he was on PCP, and got into a struggle while being put in isolation.
Next witness: Miguel Dejesus, who also worked at the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center. He says Laquan McDonald came to the detention center in Jan. 2014. Describes him as belligerent and says he believes McDonald was under the influence of narcotics #VanDykeTrial @cbschicago
— Beth Bria (@BethBriaReports) September 24, 2018
Dejesus says Laquan McDonald hit him so then he restrained him. Prosecution points out that Laquan McDonald told him he was "on the leaf," meaning PCP before the incident occurred. #VanDykeTrial @cbschicago
— Beth Bria (@BethBriaReports) September 24, 2018
Prosecution says it was the juvenile detention center that determined to let Laquan out of the room even after he said he was on PCP. Prosecution asks if the witness knows Jason Van Dyke or told him about the incident. He says no. #VanDykeTrial @cbschicago
— Beth Bria (@BethBriaReports) September 24, 2018
1:43 p.m.
Westmont Police Officer Tyler Sage, a former officer with the Rapid Response Team at the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center, described an encounter with Laquan McDonald in April 2014, when he resisted being taken back to his pod for the night.
Next up is Tyler Sage, who also worked at the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center. He describes an incident in April 2014 when he says Laquan McDonald had his arms wrapped around another officer and violently resisted restraint from other officers #VanDykeTrial @cbschicago
— Beth Bria (@BethBriaReports) September 24, 2018
Sage says Laquan McDonald was handcuffed and taken to his cell. He began to remove the handcuffs but with just one off McDonald pushed up off his bed and said "I'm going to f--- y'all up." #VanDykeTrial @cbschicago
— Beth Bria (@BethBriaReports) September 24, 2018
With both witnesses defense has asked if the officers were in uniform during the incidents. Prosecution asks Laquan McDonald's age during the incident. He was 16. #VanDykeTrial @cbschicago
— Beth Bria (@BethBriaReports) September 24, 2018
1:35 p.m.
Defense attorneys question Cook County Sheriff's Officer Joseph Plaud, who was working in the lockup at the Juvenile Courthouse in August 2013, when Laquan McDonald was taken into custody after a hearing. Plaud says McDonald hit his partner in the stomach while being moved to another cell. The defense is seeking to prove McDonald had a history of dangerous, violent behavior.
Second witness for the defense is Joseph Plaut, who works for the Cook County Sheriff's Department. He was working in juvenile court lockup in 2013 when Laquan McDonald was there. He says McDonald was agitated and cursing at officers. #VanDykeTrial @cbschicago
— Beth Bria (@BethBriaReports) September 24, 2018
Plaut says Laquan McDonald pulled his arm back as if to hit his partner who was trying to move McDonald to another cell. His partner then hit McDonald in the stomach before a struggle, cuffing him and taking him to another cell. #VanDykeTrial @cbschicago
— Beth Bria (@BethBriaReports) September 24, 2018
Prosecution asks if Plaut knows Jason Van Dyke or ever told him about these events. Plaut says no. #VanDykeTrial @cbschicago
— Beth Bria (@BethBriaReports) September 24, 2018
12:05 p.m.
Prosecutors cross-examine Dr. Shaku Teas, a forensic pathologist for the defense, who challenged some of the findings in Laquan McDonald's autopsy.
Teas cross examination begins. Teas says some of the gunshot wounds were immaterial b/c they didn't cause death. Prosecution: "It certainly mattered to Laquan McDonald that he could've lived a little but longer, right?" Teas doesn't think he would have. #VanDykeTrial @cbschicago
— Beth Bria (@BethBriaReports) September 24, 2018
The defense's medical expert testified that most of the gunshots did not cause wounds that would lead to death. But the prosecution asks one by one if each shot caused an injury, getting a yes for each answer. #VanDykeTrial @cbschicago
— Beth Bria (@BethBriaReports) September 24, 2018
Cross examination of the defense's medical expert Dr. Teas is getting heated. Teas says McDonald could've been dead in 1 to 5 minutes, but prosecution points to McDonald's pulse. Teas says that came after he was treated with an AED and doesn't count. #VanDykeTrial @cbschicago
— Beth Bria (@BethBriaReports) September 24, 2018
9:40 a.m.
The first defense witness is Dr. Shaku Teas, a forensic pathologist. She testified a bullet that struck McDonald in the chest was the shot that killed him, and said he "would bleed out pretty rapidly" from such a wound.
The jury is seeing the autopsy photos again beginning with the graze wound to Laquan McDonald's head. #VanDykeTrial @cbschicago
— Beth Bria (@BethBriaReports) September 24, 2018
Dr. Teas says gunshot wound #2, to Laquan McDonald's neck, occurred while McDonald was still standing facing Jason Van Dyke. "He had to be facing him at least partially," she says. She says it was the first or second shot to occur. #VanDykeTrial @cbschicago
— Beth Bria (@BethBriaReports) September 24, 2018
On to gunshot wound #3: Teas calls this wound to the shoulder superficial. Says the report got it wrong. She says the wound to the shoulder went from back to front, not front to back. She says it had to happen while Laquan McDonald was standing. #VanDykeTrial @cbschicago
— Beth Bria (@BethBriaReports) September 24, 2018
Dr. Teas says gunshot wound #4 to the chest "is the wound that caused Laquan to die so rapidly." She says McDonald would've died within 1 to 5 minutes of this wound. #VanDykeTrial @cbschicago
— Beth Bria (@BethBriaReports) September 24, 2018
Dr. Teas is using a probe to demonstrate bullet paths on her own body before the jury. She says gunshot wound #4 "would be consistent with Laquan being turned toward the officer." #VanDykeTrial @cbschicago
— Beth Bria (@BethBriaReports) September 24, 2018
Teas says gunshot wound number 5 to the elbow did not cause significant swelling or hemorrhage. She says after watching the video it is consistent with McDonald standing and turning. #VanDykeTrial @cbschicago
— Beth Bria (@BethBriaReports) September 24, 2018
Teas says gunshot wound #6 would have occurred while Laquan McDonald was standing and rotating. She questions the autopsy report, saying this wound described as two shots to the arm, looks like just 1. #VanDykeTrial @cbschicago
— Beth Bria (@BethBriaReports) September 24, 2018
Dr. Teas says gunshot wound number 8, to the pelvis, showed no evidence of significant bleeding that would lead to death and his body was rotating, not on the ground. #VanDykeTrial @cbschicago
— Beth Bria (@BethBriaReports) September 24, 2018
Dr. Teas describes the order of documentation of Laquan McDonald's gunshot wounds as "haphazard." She has also pointed out several times that there were no photos of internal wound tracks or injuries taken during the autopsy. #VanDykeTrial @cbschicago
— Beth Bria (@BethBriaReports) September 24, 2018
Teas testifies the gunshot wound to Laquan McDonald's hand likely occurred while he was on the ground, but she says he was still in an upright position when he sustained gunshot wound 16. #VanDykeTrial @cbschicago
— Beth Bria (@BethBriaReports) September 24, 2018
Dr. Teas says she believes other than gunshot wounds 2 and 4, the bullet wounds would not have caused Laquan McDonald to die in under 30 minutes. #VanDykeTrial @cbschicago
— Beth Bria (@BethBriaReports) September 24, 2018