Chicago cop Jason Van Dyke, who was convicted of murder in the shooting death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, has been transferred to another jail in northwestern Illinois for his own safety.
“Jason Van Dyke was transferred for his safety, and for the stability of the jail compound,” Policy director for the Cook County Sheriff’s Office Cara Smith said, NBC Chicago notes.
Up until the move, Van Dyke was actually being held at Cermak Hospital for similar security reasons after being convicted of second degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery in the 2014 shooting of McDonald.
Smith told NBC that usually detainees from Cook County are usually only transferred if they have assaulted jail staff, are cooperating with prosecutors on a pending case, or they are a high-profile defendant in need of more security.
Obviously, Van Dyke, whose case has captured the nation for years, falls into the latter. So now he is being held at the jail in Rock Island, about 150 miles out of Chicago, according to the Associated Press, as he awaits sentencing later this month.
And even at Rock Island, Van Dyke will be kept in protective custody out of the general population.
