The Fraternal Order of Police Chicago Lodge 7 (FOP) announced yesterday (March 31), that it hired the Chicago police officer who shot Black teenager Laquan McDonald.
Jason Van Dyke, who is White, shot 17-year-old McDonald 16 times in October 2014. He was charged with six counts of first-degree murder and one count of official misconduct a year later, after the city was forced to release dashcam footage of the shooting. He was then suspended from the Chicago Police Department without pay.
The local CBS affiliate reports that the FOP hired him to work as a janitor because no one else would after seeing the video, and that his wife’s home business was failing.
“After several threats against the safety of his spouse and her clients his wife was forced to shut down her family-run business; resulting in zero household income,” FOP president Dean Angelo said in a statement. “The Fraternal Order of Police has a very long history of assisting members when they find themselves forced into a no pay status. Over the course of 30-plus years representing Chicago police officers, both internal as well as external employment opportunities have been successfully extended to several dozen of our members. This is not a precedent-setting employment issue.”
Protestors assembled at the FOP’s building to push back against the hire.
Doors are blocked at FOP building where demonstrators demand to speak with president Dean Angelo over #JasonVanDyke pic.twitter.com/uuc7QwkIQK
— Jeanne Kuang (@JeanneKuang) March 31, 2016
And many more took to Twitter in protest.
#FOP further driving the citizens & #cpd apart w hiring #jasonvandyke bc he was extremely unemployable(he brought it upon himself)#Chicago
— Samuel Rodriguez (@SRod_14) March 31, 2016
#JasonVanDyke murdered #LaquanMcDonald and the Faternal Order of Police gave him a job. #StopTheKillingTour pic.twitter.com/dyDt964xHu
— Abdul Muhammad (@brotherabdul) March 31, 2016
I’m trying not to scream that the the cop who shot #LaquanMcDonald 16 times, is working again because "he was struggling."
— Yukio Strachan (@boldandworthy) March 31, 2016