Jason Van Dyke Biography
Jason Van Dyke was born in Hinsdale, Illinois and he graduated from Hinsdale South High School in 1996. He later went to St. Xavier University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.
Van Dyke is a 14 year veteran of the Chicago Police Department and was earning a salary of $78,012. Since the year 2001, about 20 citizen complaints have been filed against Officer Van Dyke nut none of them ever resulted in disciplinary action.
Ten of the complaints against Van Dyke alleged that he used excessive force, and two involve the use of a firearm. A Chicago man was awarded $350,000 by a jury after determining Van Dyke employed excessive force during a traffic stop. Another complaint involved verbal abuse by Van Dyke, who used a racial slur.
According to CNN, “the Chicago Police Department has about 12,000 officers. Like Van Dyke, 402 officers have 20 or more complaints on file in the database. The most complaints against any officer, according to the database, is 68. The database shows that of the 20 complaints against Van Dyke none resulted in discipline. Five complaints in the database were “not sustained,” five were unfounded, four resulted in exoneration, five had unknown outcomes and one resulted in no action taken.”
Jason Van Dyke Age
Jason is about 40-41 years old. He was born in 1978.
Jason Van Dyke Hearing
Jason Van Dyke Wife | Jason Van Dyke Family
Jason is married to wife Tiffany. The couple has two children; daughters, Kaylee who is 17 years old and Kaitlyn who is 12 years old. A night before Jason’s future was decided, his wife slipped into her husband’s pajamas and slept on his side of the bed. According to Sneed, she explained that it was a way of having something of her husband.
In defense of her husband before the sentencing was made, Tiffany, amidst tears testified that her husband is her everything. She said, “He is my better half. He is my heart”
She went on to describe her husband as a kind, gentle man.
“He loves with all of his heart. There is no malice, no hatred, there is no racism to my husband. He was a great police officer dedicated to the city of Chicago. They have lost a great officer.”
She went on to describe how their life turned into a nightmare after her husband was charged with murder and they got into debt and struggled to make ends meet when he lost his salary. She also told of how their daughters were bullied and threatened at school.
Tiffany also spoke of her constant fear that someone was going to try to kill her husband. When Van Dyke’s case was up in court, he entered and exited courthouse wearing a bulletproof vest, she said.
“Bulletproof vests to come and go from a public courthouse -it was very shocking to me. It broke my heart. I was afraid every day coming in and out of this courthouse that somebody was going to shoot and kill my husband.”
Towards the end of her testimony, she was asked what she feared the most about a long prison sentence for her husband and crying loudly she said, “My biggest fear is that somebody would kill my husband for something he did as a police officer, something he was trained to do. There was no malice, no hatred on that night. He was simply doing his job.”
She then went on to ask for leniency saying, “I would like to ask the court to please take into consideration that my husband is a man, he’s a human being, Please, please, he has paid the price already. My heart and soul are broken. They will not be mended until he comes home.”
Jason Van Dyke Daughters
Van Dyke and his wife Tiffany have two daughters, Kaylee who is 17 years old and Kaitlyn who is 12 years old. In his hearing, a defense team member read a letter from Van Dyke’s daughter, Kaitlyn, who begged for leniency.
The letter said, “My parents do not go over all of the details of what happened, but I do know my dad had to shoot someone and that person lost his life.”
The letter went on to show how she has been bullied at school and how much it hurts when someone calls her dad a murderer. “That hurts so much when people say that to me. My dad is not that.”
“I love my dad more than words can say. I do not want my dad to go away for doing his job. We have already been affected so much.” She went to say, “My dad and my family are really hurting and I think we have hurt enough. … I need my dad in my life.”
Jason Van Dyke Attorney
Van Dyke’s lawyer is Daniel Herbert , a Chicago lawyer.
Jason Van Dyke Sentence
Van Dyke was sentenced to 6 years and 9 months in prison for the murder of Laquan McDonald.
Jason Van Dyke Video
Jason Van Dyke News | Jason Van Dyke Latest News
Vam Dyke was sentenced to 6 years and 9 months for the murder of Laquan McDonald.