Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/10/05/laquanmcdonald.html
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Adios scumbag, and have a nice life behind bars.
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Good. If the egregious excesses of US police get some more proper judicial punishment, there should be a pressure for the cops to change their culture of force use.
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A tiny glimmer of hope in a vast darkness. I’ll take it for now.
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Thank goodness. Now, if the officers who lied and conspired to protect Van Dyke are also convicted, that might accomplish something. (see https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/van-dyke-proffer-coverup-conspiracy-email-applaud-second-guess/)
Of course, in a perfect world we’d also know about Rahm’s actions to try to cover this up, but he promised us he’s really, really, REALLY sorry about it all, so that’s probably good enough.
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“Have a nice 3-5 years behind bars, less time served, reduced for good behavior, parole in 6 months, acquitted on appeal…”
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Are you his lawyer? Asking for a friend…
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That’s extremely unlikely, for what it’s worth.
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Extremely unlikely things are happening though.
It’s extremely unlikely that a cop even gets tried for murdering someone, much less convicted.
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Meanwhile, the Police Union continues the assault:
In a statement released Friday, the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police expressed anger at the jury.
“This is a day I never thought I’d see in America, where 12 ordinary citizens were duped into saving the asses of self-serving politicians at the expense of a dedicated public servant. This sham trial and shameful verdict is a message to every law enforcement officer in America that it’s not the perpetrator in front of you that you need to worry about, it’s the political operatives stabbing you in the back. What cop would still want to be proactive fighting crime after this disgusting charade, and are law abiding citizens ready to pay the price?,” the statement read.
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It’s good news, but now the cops are going to go out and riot. >:(
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Holy shit. I’ve said it before, but every time I see evidence I’m astonished; Police Units are fucking terrible.
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The reason I’m saying it’s extremely unlikely is because there are mandatory sentence guidelines for the charges on which he was convicted, and it would be immediately overturned on appeal if a judge disregarded them. The murder conviction alone carries a 16 year minimum, and he’s also facing the sixteen battery convictions.
Cynicism is one thing, but we should at least be keeping one foot in reality.
Holy shit, go fuck yourself FOP.
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I keep reading that the Prosecutor has stated Van Dyke now faces a minimum of 6 years in prison.
Each of the 16 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm is a separate Class X Felony charge.
Each one carries a 6-30 year sentence.
He has not been sentenced yet. I will be interested to see how the Judge handles that.
The Judge “could” bundle all the 16 counts together and have them served “concurrently” rather than “consecutively”.
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Ah veiled threats of a police strike. Someone’s been watching too much Robocop
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So very true. You need to worry how the people from which your power is derived will react to your actions. It’s time they realize that.
The good ones. Just the good ones… that’s all we can hope for.
edit to add: perpetrator, the word cops use for citizens they target. Until a trial has taken place, there are no perpetrators. Cops need to remember that and they need to be taught that their job is NOT to dispense justice but rather to bring suspects before the court so that justice may be served.
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I had an idea yesterday. All cops must carry some type of “malpractice”-like business insurance. The department will give each officer the base-price as an allowance. Each use-of-force incident will increase your insurance(your fault or not, just like automobile insurance). As the price increases for problematic officers, they are responsible for the increased cost. This would also be a disincentive to leaving one department and moving to another one just because of problems. Obviously you need accurate reporting, which is an issue in and of itself, but sounds like a good start.
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What cop would still want to be proactive fighting crime after this disgusting charade
Ones who don’t murder people, maybe.
This sham trial and shameful verdict is a message to every law enforcement officer in America
You mean police don’t believe in their own justice system!?!
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Regardless of what happens in sentencing…
Felony conviction means he’s not allowed firearms, right? So when he gets out he can’t just waltz down the road to another PD and get hired, right?
Yeah, I know. This little thing just might get “missed” on a background check. Yes, I am cynical. I just really don’t trust the systems anymore. And I know I am privileged in that I ever could.
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Thay better go arrest the jury.
(or shoot them)
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