Former Chicago Cop Jason Van Dyke To Be Freed On Feb. 3: Reports

CHICAGO — Jason Van Dyke, the former Chicago Police officer convicted in 2018 of killing 17-year-old Laquan McDonald will be released from prison next month after his release was approved by the Illinois Prisoner Review Board.

The board approved the former cop's release in September and Van Dyke will be freed on Feb. 3, WGN reported on Friday, citing court records. Multiple news outlets reported that McDonald's family was informed of the decision this week.

Van Dyke was sentenced to 81 months in prison after he became the first Chicago Police officer in 50 years to be convicted of murder in connection with an on-duty incident. He was sentenced to a nearly seven-year sentence after prosecutors sought 18-20 years and defense attorneys asked for probation.

A jury convicted Van Dyke of second-degree murder and sixteen counts of aggravated battery in a trial that drew racial lines when a police dash-cam video was released showing Van Dyke, who is white, firing 16 times at the Black teen, who police said was carrying a knife.

Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan handed down the sentence in what amounts to six-and three-quarter years. The judge said he based his decision on the more serious charge of second degree murder, and not the 16 counts of aggravated battery.

In 2019, the Illinois Supreme Court denied a petition by Van Dyke's attorneys for the former city cop to be sentenced. At the time of Van Dyke's conviction, After the ex-cop's sentencing, McDonald's great uncle Rev. Marvin Hunter said the sentence reduced his nephew to a "second-class citizen."

On Friday, Hunter told the Chicago Sun-Times that he says that the judicial system that sentenced Van Dyke needs to be overhauled.

“I’m hoping he’s learned the errors of his ways. I have always asked for justice and not revenge,” Hunter told the newspaper. “We got as much justice you could get with the players that were there at the time he was on trial. The system needs to be changed, it needs to be overhauled.”

Jennifer Blagg, the attorney who represented Van Dyke until 2019 when he agreed not to appeal his conviction, told the Sun-Times that she hopes her former client can find privacy once he is released from prison next month.

In an e-mail to Patch, a spokeswoman for Van Dyke's attorney, Dan Herbert, said he has no comment at this time.

Lorraine Swanson, Patch staff, contributed to this article