The Associated Press
A Chicago police officer charged with murder in the shooting of a Black teenager has posted $200 bond and walked out of the courthouse after being taken into custody a few hours earlier.
Jason Van Dyke, center, a Chicago police officer charged with murder in the 2014 shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald, walks out of Cook County Jail in Chicago with his father, Owen, after posting bond Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018, following a court hearing where a judge ruled he won’t be jailed for giving interviews in violation of his bail terms. Van Dyke is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery and official misconduct. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford)
Jason Van Dyke walked out of the courthouse on Chicago’s South Side shortly after 1 p.m. on Sept. 6. Earlier in the day, Judge Vincent Gaughan ruled that recent interviews he’d given to the press were a clear violation of his longstanding order prohibiting parties in the case from discussing it publicly. Van Dyke has been free since he posted 10 percent of his $1.5 million bond and on Sept. 6 , Gaughan increased that amount by $2,000, meaning he had to post $200.
Prosecutors had argued at a hearing that Van Dyke’s bail should be revoked and he locked up in jail for violating the order. Van Dyke’s attorneys countered that he had a right to speak out and that Van Dyke was only speaking to counter the avalanche of publicity against him the dashcam video of the 2014 shooting was released to the public in late 2015.
Van Dyke’s interviews were given last week — just days before the jury selection process began on Sept. 5.