Laquan McDonald's Death: Tragic In So Many Ways Pt. 2

I'm as frustrated as anyone about the shooting death of Laquan McDonald.  It's unnerving to watch a police officer shoot a person 16 times, especially when there is no exchange of gunfire. And then there's the matter of the time it took to bring charges against Officer Van Dyke, who was allowed to remain on the job, but off the street, for over a year after the shooting. It sends a bad message that no one in authority thought is was worth it to keep the public informed about the process in this highly controversial case. Which is pretty ironic since everyone talks about transparency, but this case appears to be anything but.  Ufortunately when something like this happens, it only serves to whittle away the public's trust just a little more.

But the fact of the matter is, Officer Van Dyke has been charged and was taken into custody.  Cook County Criminal Court Associate Judge Donald Panarese, Jr. set bail at $1.5 million dollars. On Monday, Van Dyke posted bail--$150,000.00, ten percent of the amount set by the judge--and was released. Some believe there has been a miscarriage of justice because Officer Van Dyke was granted bail, made bail and has been released.  Like it or not, Van Dyke is legally presumed to be innocent and is entitled to due process. It's the judge's decision if bail will be set and for how much. There are cases when bail is not allowed, but if the judge, after considering several factors, including they type of crime and the defendant's background, decides to grant bail, there is no miscarriage of justice

In part one of this post, I said there were other aspects of this case that were also tragic, and here's a brief rundown of those things: