Laquan McDonald and Jason Van Dyke
The Chicago branch of the Fraternal Order of Police has hired officer Jason Van Dyke — the white Chicago Police officer charged with murdering Black teen Laquan McDonald in 2014 — the FOP union president confirmed last night.
Local reports from Chicago’s Channel 32 revealed that Van Dyke could not find employment after the tragic killing. In 2014, the officer was charged for firing his gun 16 times, which resulted in McDonald’s death.
Video of the incident surfaced after a Department of Justice federal investigation, and viewers on various social media platforms could hear the 16 shots that took the young man’s life.
Atlanta Black Star reported that lawyers for the former Chicago cop asked a Cook County judge to allow Van Dyke to skip court appearances. The public backlash has made the officer fear for his life. Van Dyke has lost jobs due to the unwanted publicity, and he has gone on record stating that these threats forced his wife’s business to close.
According to the Associated Press, the former cop has been employed with the FOP for three weeks, but news about his job recently surfaced. The head of the FOP, president Dean Angelo, decided to hire Van Dyke after speaking with the Chicago Sun Times three weeks ago.
“He might be on the roof, he might be in the office, he does anything we need,” Angelo said. “We’ve probably had 100 people in no-pay status who we got jobs or hired at the hall. This is nothing new.”
Van Dyke will be making about $12 per hour for various jobs around the headquarters. Some of those jobs will be janitorial in nature.
