Guilty!” Cars driving past the group on Jeffery leaned on their horns in celebration, while drivers and passengers raised clutched fists out open windows to show their support.Noting Van Dyke’s conviction for second-degree murder charge, one of the demonstrators yelled into a megaphone, “This is a victory, if only a partial victory.” Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune People rally at 71st Street and Jeffery Boulevard after the jury's guilty verdict was delivered on Oct. 5, 2018, in Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke's trial for the shooting death of Laquan McDonald. Second-degree murder is considered to be a first-degree murder with a mitigating factor, the judge explained before the foreman read the jury's verdict.First-degree murder requires a finding that the shooting was unnecessary and unreasonable. The judge told jurors the second-degree charge required them to find Van Dyke believed his life was in danger, but that the belief was unreasonable.Aggravated battery with a firearm carries a sentence of six to 30 years per charge. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Former Texas police officer convicted of murder in shooting of unarmed black teen

Van Dyke was also convicted of aggravated battery and acquitted of official misconduct. -- Tony Briscoe 3:25 p.m. ‘I didn’t want to miss this historic moment.’ As the crowd outside the courthouse began to dissipate, South Side resident Rene Shepherd stood with her back turned to a group of police officers, carrying a sign emblazoned with a photo of Van Dyke and the words "16 SHOTS. The jury was able to consider second-degree murder, a sentence which varies widely from probation up to 20 years. But, in a move not uncommon at Illinois murder trials, Judge Vincent Gaughan told jurors before they began deliberating that they could consider the charge of second-degree murder. READ MORE: How Twitter is reacting to the Jason Van Dyke verdict 2:41 p.m.: Activists laud Van Dyke’s ‘historic’ conviction Community activists lauded the second-degree murder conviction as a measure of justice even though some had hoped the officer would be found guilty of the first-degree charges. Frank Chapman told the crowd with a megaphone.The group continued to rip the mayor and city politicians, who they say purposely withheld the Laquan McDonald dashcam video released in November of 2015, the same day Van Dyke was charged and more than a year after the teen was killed.Another protester warned politicians, "we are going to take your seats," referencing a "black wave" coming.Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder, 16 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm - one for each shot - and official police misconduct in the October 2014 shooting.First-degree murder carries a sentence of 20 years to life. The October 2014 shooting was one in a series of deadly confrontations between law enforcement and black men and women that spurred a national conversation on policing, and an incident that fractured the already tattered trust of police in the African-American community of the nation’s third-largest city. Assistant special prosecutor Jody Gleason told the jury that Van Dyke contemplated shooting McDonald before he even encountered the young man on the street

“You heard what it was that he said, ‘I guess we’ll have to shoot him,'” Gleason said, referring to testimony about what Van Dyke told his partner before arriving at the scene. …I don’t think Tina will ever heal from this wound.” READ MORE: 'This kid had an impact on people': The troubled life and fleeting potential of Laquan McDonald 3:59 p.m. Police union president calls verdict ‘unfortunate’ Kevin Graham, president of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police, called the verdict “unfortunate” but said he was “certainly not blaming the jury.” He said the FOP disagreed with “how some evidence didn’t get into the case.”

“We do think Jason has a tough road to go right now, but he is not standing alone,” Graham said following the verdict. But if I was a hot-head and had no people skills, I think the police would’ve took me out. But the officer maintained the rest of his account, saying: “The video doesn’t show my perspective.”

The officer had been on the force for 13 years when the shooting happened. A woman in the Laquan McDonald family group got up and left the room prior to the reading.On Friday morning, the jury sent the court a note asking on the aggravated battery charges whether to consider the order of the shots or just the total number of shots.During the trial, the medical examiner testified that she could not determine the order of shots in the autopsy findings, but showed the jury each bullet wound from head to toe, and what effect it had on Laquan McDonald as he died.The judge instructed jurors to only consider the simple number of shots fired.The jury, which deliberated for about seven hours total on Thursday and Friday, was comprised of eight men and four women. An officer with a Taser was just 25 seconds away.Van Dyke claimed he opened fire on the teen, who was holding a small knife, because he feared for his life and continued to fire after McDonald was on the ground because he believed he was still a threat.Prosecutors have argued that each shot was a crime and robbed McDonald of the chance of survival.Prosecutor Jody Gleason seized on the testimony of one the defense's own witnesses, a psychologist who interviewed Van Dyke.Dr. Jurors could come back with a clear, unambiguous verdict: guilty or not guilty on all counts. Van Dyke was found not guilty of official misconduct.Van Dyke appeared emotionless as the verdict was read and he was remanded into custody.The verdict is the latest chapter in a story that has led to the police superintendent and the county's top prosecutor both losing their jobs - one fired by the mayor and the other ousted by voters. We haven’t gotten justice for them yet, but this is a landmark moment.”

-- Tony Briscoe 2:54 p.m. Mayor, police superintendent & FOP president react Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson released a joint statement following the verdict: “For the past several weeks, a jury heard testimony, weighed evidence and considered the facts of the Van Dyke case. One of the only instances was during opening statements, when special prosecutor Joseph McMahon told the jurors that Van Dyke didn’t know anything about McDonald’s past when he encountered him that night. “It always is.” -- Ese Olumhense Back to top 3:37 p.m.: ‘Sad day for law enforcement,’ Van Dyke’s lawyer says

Daniel Herbert, Van Dyke’s lead attorney, said he wasn’t surprised by the verdict and vowed an appeal on the judge’s refusal to move the trial outside Cook County because of the extensive pretrial publicity.
A Chicago police officer, Jason Van Dyke, is convicted of second degree murder in a historic jury verdict.