After cover-up trial, officer who shot teen to be sentenced

CHICAGO (AP) — A judge rejected allegations that the shocking video of Laquan McDonald’s death proved that police officers staged a cover-up in the fatal shooting of the black teen.

Now another judge must decide how long the officer who pulled the trigger spends behind bars. Jason Van Dyke was convicted in October of second-degree murder and aggravated battery. He will likely be given prison time when he’s sentenced Friday.

But critics of the police department who cheered Van Dyke’s conviction are worried after a judge on Thursday acquitted three officers accused of trying to conceal what happened to protect their colleague. He was the first Chicago officer found guilty in an on-duty shooting in a half century and probably the first ever in the shooting of an African-American.