Officer who witnessed white cop shoot black teen says knife-wielding victim looked ‘deranged’

The defense team for the white cop on trial for the first-degree murder of a 17-year-old black boy in Chicago, has been critiqued for using an animated video to recreate the moments before he was killed. 

Jason Van Dyke, 40, shot dead Laquan McDonald on October 20, 2014 and lawyers called upon San Francisco 3D-Forensic to create a Toy Story-style animation to help jurors imagine the events that night.

Prosecutor Marilyn Hite Ross slammed the imagery that the animation company’s CEO Jason Fries admitted made McDonald appear taller on Tuesday.

Jason Van Dyke, 40, is undergoing a first-degree murder trial Leighton Criminal Court Building (pictured Tuesday) for the killing of Laquan McDonald

Jason Van Dyke, 40, is undergoing a first-degree murder trial Leighton Criminal Court Building (pictured Tuesday) for the killing of Laquan McDonald

Lead defense attorney Daniel Herbert gestures at an animated video portraying Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke and Laquan McDonald as it's shown to the jury

Lead defense attorney Daniel Herbert gestures at an animated video portraying Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke and Laquan McDonald as it’s shown to the jury

Officer Leticia Velez told Leighton Criminal Court Building Wednesday that she saw McDonald holding his side and believed he had a gun on him

Officer Leticia Velez told Leighton Criminal Court Building Wednesday that she saw McDonald holding his side and believed he had a gun on him

Prosecutor had an issue with the angle shown in the video during the court session

Prosecutor had an issue with the angle shown in the video during the court session

Jason Fries created the animated video intended to show the officer's perspective during the shooting and support Van Dyke's claim that he feared for his safety

Jason Fries created the animated video intended to show the officer’s perspective during the shooting and support Van Dyke’s claim that he feared for his safety

He told Leighton Criminal Court Building that the company used forensic reports, dash cam footage, drone imagery and surveillance video to create the sequence that Ross suggested defense lawyer Dan Herbert had a heavy hand in influencing. 

‘He gave you specific direction about what he wanted you to do, correct?’ Ross asked him. He denied the claim about the video the making of which he also compared to creating a family film like Monsters.

The prosecution also poked holes in the way both the victim and shooter were dressed in the animation, reports WGN9.

It showed McDonald in all black instead of the jeans he wore, and Van Dyke not wearing a bullet proof vest which was also incorrect.

Additionally, the recreation showed McDonald getting closer to Van Dyke, going from 39 feet away to 13 feet in four seconds.

The four-minute clip only showed Van Dyke shooting five times despite it being known he shot McDonald approximately 16 times. 

Forensics state at least one of the bullets were shot when the victim was already on the ground.

Despite the visuals with enhanced imposing angles having a good chance of influencing viewers to believe Van Dyke was more vulnerable and McDonald more threatening and sinister by connotation, Fries admitted he believed the details were ‘meaningless’.

Van Dyke appeared in court Wednesday where the truck driver who dialed 911 was present

Van Dyke appeared in court Wednesday where the truck driver who dialed 911 was present

Van Dyke (pictured with defense attorney Elizabeth Fleming) claims he shot in self-defense

Van Dyke (pictured with defense attorney Elizabeth Fleming) claims he shot in self-defense

Defense attorney Daniel Herbert was challenged by the judge when he questioned a a witness about the killed teenager

Defense attorney Daniel Herbert was challenged by the judge when he questioned a a witness about the killed teenager

Leticia Velez was asked if it sounded like McDonald growled on the night he was killed

Leticia Velez was asked if it sounded like McDonald growled on the night he was killed

The defendant pictured leaving Leighton Criminal Court Building with his wife Tiffany Van Dyke Wednesday. They wore bulletproof vests

The defendant pictured leaving Leighton Criminal Court Building with his wife Tiffany Van Dyke Wednesday. They wore bulletproof vests

‘It’s a detail that’s so meaningless to me that I wouldn’t spend time trying to figure that out,’ he said under cross-examination. 

The court said Tuesday they would strike the video off if the truck driver who dialed 911 that night did not show as a witness Wednesday. 

Laquan McDonald - who was 17 at the time of his killing - would have been 21 today

Laquan McDonald – who was 17 at the time of his killing – would have been 21 today

Rudy Barillas did testify with the help of a translator, saying he had warned McDonald he would call law enforcement if he didn’t leave the truck he’d spotted him in at the truck yard.

‘He couldn’t talk. He was tongue-tied,’ he said about the teenager who was shot around 10pm.

When Van Dyke’s defense attorney Randy Rueckert asked if it sounded like the victim growled, the judge stopped him in his tracks.

‘Mr. Rueckert, if you want to testify, we can swear you in,’ he interjected. 

Earlier this month Rueckhert was accused of striking black people off the jury after getting rid of one African-American man. He denied race being the motive.

At the time 10 people had been selected including five white, three Hispanic, one African-American and one of Asian descent according to the Chicago Tribune.

Officer Leticia Velez said Wednesday she saw McDonald holding his side and believed he had a gun on him, adding he appeared to be in a ‘twilight’.

‘I had believed that he had something on him,’ she said during her testimony, reports CBS’ Beth Bria.

She later learned he was not carrying a firearm but was holding a three-inch knife. 

The video show McDonald being shot five times but he was shot at least 16 times

The video show McDonald being shot five times but he was shot at least 16 times

The court saw imagery of where bullets hit the teenager on the night of October 20, 2014

The court saw imagery of where bullets hit the teenager on the night of October 20, 2014

Velez told the court on the third day for the defense presenting evidence and the seventh day of the trial she was not called to the scene but went because her work partner wanted to.

‘We heard the call over the radio and it sounded like officers were in distress,’ she revealed about how they came upon McDonald.

Velez said she wanted to leave her vehicle when she got to the scene but her partner wanted to keep a distance. 

Van Dyke – who also had Joseph Walsh, ex-Detective David March, and Officer Thomas Gaffney on the scene – said he was in fear of his life.

The three other men go on trial November 26 faces charges they lied to exaggerate the threat McDonald posed. 

Prosecutors questioned why the driver and police thought they were at risk when the boy did not use a weapon as he fought with the truck driver who threw dirt and gravel at him in the confrontation. 

The prosecution wrapped up testimonies last week as McDonald's mother Tina Hunter (pictured Monday) watched

The prosecution wrapped up testimonies last week as McDonald’s mother Tina Hunter (pictured Monday) watched

Former Deputy Chief David McNaughton and ex-Chief Eugene Roy retired after the city’s Office of Inspector General conducted an investigation into the shooting and recommended they be dismissed. 

Lieutenant Anthony Wojcik was investigating on behalf of the police department but retired before the Inspector General finished looking into his case.

Sergeant Daniel Gallagher resigned after they recommended his firing.

The defense also called witnesses including Cook County Juvenile Detention Center’s Jackie Alexander Wednesday who quoted McDonald as saying he would ‘put a slug in the judge’s head’ when she spoke to him as he refused to go to his cell in 2014.

Richard Delk says McDonald resisted when he tried to restrain him at the same facility. 

Under Illinois law, defendants who claim self-defense can present evidence about the past behavior of the person they killed, even if they weren’t aware of that history when the killing occurred. 

The prosecution wrapped up testimonies last week as McDonald’s mother Tina Hunter watched. 

It’s not known whether Van Dyke will testify.

The defendant was pictured leaving Leighton Criminal Court Building with his wife Tiffany Van Dyke Wednesday. They both wore bulletproof vests. 

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