Protests are expected Thursday after news broke that the Chicago police officer charged with Laquan McDonald’s murder has been hired by the Fraternal Order of Police. NBC 5's Christian Farr reports. (Published Thursday, March 31, 2016) 
 
 Protests are expected Thursday after news broke that the Chicago police officer charged in the death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald has been hired by the police union as a janitor and "jack-of-all-trades." 
 
 Officer Jason Van Dyke now makes $12 an hour at the Fraternal Order of Police hall in the city’s West Loop, union president Dean Angelo told the Chicago Sun-Times Wednesday evening. 
 
 In a statement Thursday, the union said it reached a decision "weeks ago" to "assist the Van Dyke family." 
 
 "Due to the notoriety of the incident, the on-going threats of harm and intimidation and other issues caused him to become completely unemployable," Angelo said in a statement. "Furthermore, 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." 
 
 Angelo added that it is not the first time the union has hired officers "forced into a no pay status" and said the decision was based on the "sustenance needs of a police officer and his family." 
 
 "For anyone to believe that the Lodge entered into this arrangement without consideration and forethought is improper and short sighted," the statement read. "Accuracy under these circumstances is paramount to truly grasping the significance to the decision made." 
 
 Over the past several months, Van Dyke has appeared in court numerous times to face a judge on first-degree murder charges stemming from the October 2014 shooting. Van Dyke is accused of firing 16 shots at McDonald, who was seen on surveillance video walking away from police. 
 
 Van Dyke has pleaded not guilty and his attorney has requested a change of venue, arguing it's impossible for his client to have a fair trial in Cook County. 
 
 Officer Jason Van Dyke Hired by Police Union 
 
 The officer charged with first-degree murder in the killing of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald got a new job with the police union. NBC 5's Emily Florez reports. (Published Thursday, March 31, 2016) 
 
 Already there has been heavy pushback against Van Dyke's new role. Father Michael Pfleger, a Roman Catholic priest and social activist, took to Facebook late Wednesday after news of the hiring broke. His heated post calling the move a "disgrace" and arguing that every union member should demand he be fired garnered more than 1,000 shares in just 10 hours. 
 
 "The Police Union says to Chicago...we don't give a damn what he did, what you think, he is one of ours, and we are going to take care of him," he wrote. 
 
 Other activists followed suit, planning demonstrations for outside the FOP at both noon and 6:30 p.m. 
 
 "Officers under that uniform are regular people," activist Ja'mal Green said at the noon protest. "If I killed someone, I wouldn't get bail, I wouldn't get bail. If I killed someone I don't have a union to make sure that I'm employed." 
 
 Some groups called for Van Dyke to be fired immediately and for the union to issue an apology. 
 
 "Chicago’s going to get tired of doing these marches and being peaceful," Green said. "We have been peaceful over the last four months, we have made statement and we have made change but at the end of the day the residents are tired of these types of decisions, getting slapped in the face." 
 
 Soon after, protesters were seen trying to enter the FOP office, but a line of police officers blocked the entrance. 
 
 "The F.O.P. just declared war with the people of Chicago," wrote Jedidiah Brown. "The ultimate slap in the face is to hire a man who shot a child sixteen times." 
 
 Prosecutor Bill Delaney had asked that Van Dyke remain held without bond on Nov. 30, 2015, but the judge rejected that, saying everyone is presumed innocent. He set Van Dyke’s bail at $1.5 million. Five hours later, Van Dyke posted bond and walked out of jail. 
 
 Van Dyke is currently stripped of his police powers and is on unpaid status. His new job is considered to be at a level slightly higher than that of a typical security guard, according to the Sun-Times. 
 
 "He might be on the roof, he might be in the office, he does anything we need," Angelo told the newspaper, adding that the hiring of Van Dyke is not an unprecedented move. 
 
 "We’ve probably had 100 people in no-pay status who we got jobs or hired at the hall," he told the Sun-Times. "This is nothing new." 
 
 In an interview with The Associated Press, Angelo said Van Dyke's suspension has been a "very difficult situation, financially" for the husband and father, adding that the union would do the same for any CPD officer. 
 
 Van Dyke had been turned down for all other jobs, Angelo said, and his wife's business had to close its doors due to an onslaught of threats against the officer and his family. ||||| FILE - In this March 23, 2016 file photo, Chicago Police officer Jason Van Dyke, charged with murder in the 2014 videotaped shooting death of black teenager Laquan McDonald, walks in a courtroom during... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this March 23, 2016 file photo, Chicago Police officer Jason Van Dyke, charged with murder in the 2014 videotaped shooting death of black teenager Laquan McDonald, walks in a courtroom during... (Associated Press) 
 
 CHICAGO (AP) — A white Chicago police officer charged with murder in the shooting of a black teenager has been hired to work as a janitor for the city's police union as he awaits trial, the union president said Thursday. 
 
 Dean Angelo, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Chicago, says the union hired Jason Van Dyke about three weeks ago. Van Dyke is accused of shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times in 2014. The shooting was captured on squad-car video and has prompted investigations, including a federal civil rights probe of the Chicago Police Department. Van Dykes has been suspended from the department without pay. 
 
 The union would do the same for any Chicago officer and have hired dozens of people who are in no-pay status, Angelo said. 
 
 "This officer is in a very difficult situation financially. He has a family and we would do it for anybody that works as a Chicago Police officer," Angelo said. 
 
 Van Dyke does various tasks, Angelo said. 
 
 "He might be on the roof, he might be in the office, he does anything we need," Angelo said. 
 
 Van Dyke has lost other jobs due to publicity and that threats closed his wife's business, the union said. Van Dyke's attorney last week asked court officials to let the officer not attend hearings because he has received threats of violence and death when he comes to court. ||||| Police union hiring of Jason Van Dyke sparks outrage 
 
 Jason Van Dyke — the white Chicago cop charged with murder after firing 16 shots into a knife-wielding black teenager in 2014 — works for the Fraternal Order of Police, the union president confirmed Wednesday night. 
 
 WFLD-Channel 32 first reported Wednesday night that Van Dyke was working at the FOP hall in the West Loop because he couldn’t find another job. 
 
 The fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald prompted a U.S. Justice Department investigation of the Chicago Police Department — and the city’s release of a video of the shooting in November led to the firing of police Supt. Garry McCarthy on Dec. 1. 
 
 Dean Angelo, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, said he decided to hire Van Dyke after receiving a call from the Chicago Sun-Times several weeks ago asking whether the officer was working for the union. 
 
 At the time, Angelo said that Van Dyke wasn’t working for the FOP. The Sun-Times made the inquiry after hearing from former FOP officials who thought Van Dyke was working for the union and were opposed to the arrangement. 
 
 On Wednesday night, Angelo said he then considered the idea and decided to give Van Dyke a job. 
 
 Van Dyke, who is stripped of his police powers and is on unpaid status, makes $12 an hour from the FOP — slightly above what a typical unarmed security guard is paid — to be a jack-of-all-trades for the union. 
 
 “He might be on the roof, he might be in the office, he does anything we need,” Angelo said. 
 
 Angelo said it’s not unprecedented. 
 
 “We’ve probably had 100 people in no-pay status who we got jobs or hired at the hall. This is nothing new,” he said. 
 
 Angelo said one of those officers was Serena Daniels, who was stripped of her police powers and was eventually fired after fatally shooting LaTanya Haggerty, an unarmed passenger in a car, in 1999. 
 
 The FOP’s move drew quick criticism and sparked promises of protests. 
 
 The Rev. Michael Pfleger blasted the move, saying in part on a Facebook post: “The Police Union says to Chicago we don’t give a Damn what he did or what you think he is one of ours, and we are going to take care of him . . . ” 
 
 The post was shared by more than 1,000 people by early Thursday morning. ||||| The officer accused in the violent shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was no stranger to the agency responsible for investigating complaints against Chicago Police. Phil Rogers reports. (Published Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015) 
 
 The officer accused in the violent shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was no stranger to the agency responsible for investigating complaints against Chicago Police. 
 
 City records indicate at least 20 citizen complaints have been filed against officer Jason Van Dyke since he joined the Chicago Police Department in the summer of 2001. Four of those appear to be open investigations, but none of the others resulted in discipline against the officer. 
 
 A freelance Chicago journalist who won a landmark case forcing the release of over 50,000 complaint records, including Van Dyke’s, argues the shooting of LaQuan McDonald is a textbook example of how the system drags its feet in investigations of potential police misconduct. 
 
 “If this were a gang shooting, this would have been tied up quickly,” says Jamie Kalven, a founder of the non-profit Invisible Institute, which has put the complaints online. “I think there’s a pattern of ‘investigation as coverup.’ As long as you can say there is a pending investigation, you don’t have to acknowledge the reality of what happened.” 
 
 Early Tuesday, Van Dyke’s wife set up a GoFundMe page, hoping to raise at least $80,000 for his defense. 
 
 “With the holidays approaching,” she said, “our husband and father needs to be home with his family.” 
 
 But by early afternoon, the page had been taken down, after netting over $10,000 in contributions. A spokesman for GoFundMe cited a policy prohibiting fundraising for the “defense of anyone alleged to be involved in criminal activity.” 
 
 The site said all donations would be refunded to the donors. 
 
 At the Leighton Criminal Courts Building, the chief of Van Dyke’s union urged restraint. 
 
 “We’re concerned about the officer’s safety,” said Dean Angelo, President of the Fraternal Order of Police. “We’re concerned about his family.” 
 
 Angelo called Tuesday a “tough time for police.” 
 
 “We are standing by officer Van Dyke in the performance of his duty at this stage,” 
 
 At the Invisible Institute meanwhile, researchers suggested the Van Dyke case is a cautionary tale about the need to more rigorously investigate complaints which they believe are dismissed far too quickly. 
 
 “He’s what we call a repeater,” says the site’s Alison Flowers. “He’s on our repeater list, which means ten or more complaints.” 
 
 She notes that in actuality, most police officers, as many as 80 percent, have zero to four complaints for the entirety of their careers. But with the remaining 20 percent making up the majority of the misconduct reports, Flowers argues that an analysis of the data dispels the notion of a “few bad apples.” 
 
 “There are barrels of bad apples,” she says. 
 
 Kalven, who won the court case freeing up the reports, is also quick to point out that most officers serve long careers with relatively few complaints. 
 
 “The lion’s share of complaints is accounted for with a relatively small number of officers,” he says. 
 
 But even as he defended the best officers on the Chicago force, Kalven argued that the Independent Police Review Authority needed to be held more accountable for their own investigations. And he suggested Van Dyke was a classic example. 
 
 “Consider what might have happened if there was a functioning disciplinary system that was monitoring patterns,” he said. “(They might see) officers that were in high level of complaints, and note that ‘Hey, there’s something that we should look at with this officer.’ 
 
 “Perhaps LaQuan McDonald would be alive today,” Kalven said. “A well-functioning disciplinary system would allow a police department to intervene, and keep small things from becoming big things.” 
 
 Van Dyke's attorney, Dan Herbert, has argued the video alone is not enough to determine if Van Dyke "acted inappropriately" when he fatally shot McDonald, though he has described the footage as "graphic and violent" and "difficult to watch." He said outside the courtroom Tuesday that the case needs to be tried in a courtroom, "not in the streets or in the media."
– Jason Van Dyke, the white Chicago police officer charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of black teen Laquan McDonald, has a new gig with the police union: janitor. The AP reports Chicago's Fraternal Order of Police hired Van Dyke—who is on unpaid leave from the police department—about three weeks ago. The Chicago Sun-Times describes him as a "jack-of-all-trades" making $12 an hour. “He might be on the roof, he might be in the office, he does anything we need,” union president Dean Angelo says. According to the union, Van Dyke has been unable to hold a job due to bad publicity, and threats forced his wife to close her business. "This officer is in a very difficult situation financially," Angelo tells the AP. "He has a family, and we would do it for anybody that works as a Chicago police officer." The announcement of Van Dyke's job with the police union on Wednesday sparked immediate criticism, and protesters were outside the Fraternal Order of Police Thursday, NBC Chicago reports. "If I killed someone, I wouldn't get bail," one protester says. "If I killed someone, I don't have a union to make sure that I'm employed." Van Dyke posted bond on $1.5 million bail, which the prosecution was against. The protester calls his hiring by the union a slap in the face to Chicago residents. In a Facebook post, a Catholic priest and social activist calls Van Dyke's hiring a "disgrace" and says "every union member should demand he be fired." Video released last year shows Van Dyke firing 16 shots at the 17-year-old McDonald, who was holding a knife, as McDonald walked away from officers in October 2014.