CHICAGO (AP) - A judge says trial will begin this summer for a Chicago police officer charged with murder in the 2014 shooting death of black teenager Laquan McDonald.
Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan said Wednesday that he won’t give a specific month that Officer Jason Van Dyke’s first-degree murder trial will start, “but it will go to trial this summer.” Gaughan says he doesn’t want bad weather to keep people from getting to the Chicago courthouse.
Van Dyke was indicted more than two years ago after the release of dashcam video showing Van Dyke shoot McDonald 16 times.
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Also on Wednesday, defense attorneys filed a request to change the trial venue. They have said a new venue is needed because a fair trial in Chicago is impossible.
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