Wife of Ex-Cop Beaten at FCI Danbury Says She Was Kept In Dark

DANBURY, CT — The wife of a former Chicago police officer who was beaten in a Danbury prison spoke out on Thursday about how her worst fears were confirmed.

Tiffany Van Dyke said she found out Wednesday that the safety of her husband had been compromised at the Danbury Federal Correctional Institute. Jason Van Dyke, 40, was recently moved to the low security facility from Rock Island County jail near the Illinois-Iowa border.

Up until two days ago, Tiffany said she did not know where her husband, who was sentenced to 81 months in prison, was being housed after he was convicted of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery for the October 2014 fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.

"My number one fear is for my husband's safety, that someone will get him and hurt him," Tiffany Van Dyke said during a press conference.

Just hours after his arrival at FCI Danbury and being placed in the general population, Van Dyke was beaten in his cell.

Tiffany Van Dyke said she received a phone call on Wednesday that "there was a group of individuals who physically harmed him."

"I don't know if he is safe at this moment or the extent of his injuries," she said. "He was in a state facility where he was safe. He was convicted. Everyone got what they wanted. He's not been allowed to speak to social workers, preachers, priests. Every prisoner is afforded those rights."

Jason Van Dyke was arrested following the release of a police dash-cam video that showed the white police officer shooting the black teen 16 times, who was reportedly breaking into trucks with a pocketknife. The release of the video ignited racial tensions and protests throughout the city.

Tammy Wendt, one of Van Dyke's co-counsel during his murder trial last fall, stated that she learned two days ago that Van Dyke had been transferred on Feb. 5 to federal custody.

"I received a call after the transfer from the Illinois Department of Corrections chief of operations. They said nothing had happened," Wendt said. "I inquired if there was a safety issue and was told there was nothing that they could tell me as to why, but that it was a joint decision."

Although Danbury FCI where Van Dyke is currently being housed is considered a low to minimum security prison, Wendt added the inmates are "gang bangers" and violent offenders on the last leg of serving out their sentences.

"To put a police officer whose spent his entire career locking up bad guys in with these bad guys, it doesn't take a genius to know that it's obviously going to get him in trouble," Wendt said.

In Illinois, Van Dyke was regarded as a "high-profile detainee" and kept isolated. He was the first Chicago police officer in 50 years to be charged with murder for an on-duty incident.

Van Dyke's lead counsel Dan Herbert said they didn't know if the attack on former police officer occurred with any "malice aforethought by the guards," or if was a "mistake or misunderstanding." The mentality of some members of the public is that they won't rest unless his client is killed in prison or given a life sentence, Herbert said.

"Quite frankly, we're not to concerned about the reason, we just want to make sure the end result is that it doesn't occur again," he added.

The ex-Chicago police officer was sentenced last month to 81 months in prison, which McDonald's family members and community activists felt was too lenient. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Special Prosecutor Joe McMahon announced they would be challenging the legal reasoning of the sentence in the Illinois Supreme Court. If successful, the move could lengthen Van Dyke's sentence.

Lorraine Swanson contributed to this story.