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.  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. 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. 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." Van Dyke is accused of firing 16 shots at McDonald, who was seen on surveillance video walking away from police. 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 . "Chicago’s going to get tired of doing these marches and being peaceful," Green said. 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. 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 told the newspaper, adding that the hiring of Van Dyke is not an unprecedented move. 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 is nothing new,” he said. 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.
– 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.