The wife of a Chicago cop charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald three years ago said the high-profile killing cost her a job.
Tiffany Van Dyke, the wife of indicted cop Jason Van Dyke, told the Chicago Tribune that she was informed on March 16 – just four days before her start date as a Cook County sheriff’s deputy – that she was no longer needed to start a four-month training period despite a yearlong interviewing process.
Van Dyke, 36, told the newspaper she was candid and unequivocal about her husband’s identity and applied for the post under he married name. She had also quit her jobs as a fitness instructor and bartender for the new gig — and even purchased uniforms and equipment needed to serve as a correctional officer at the county’s jail, a job that pays $53,000 per year.
Cara Smith, the sheriff’s chief policy officer, told the newspaper that her tentative start date was delayed due to safety concerns she would face working in the jail.
“We’re not hiring to work at Macy’s,” said Smith, who suggested Van Dyke look for a civilian post with the sheriff instead of working in the jail. “It’s a totally different environment. We certainly are sympathetic to her situation, but our concern first and foremost has to be ensuring her safety.”
A sheriff’s aide denied that Van Dyke was fired, adding that her certification to start the training academy is valid for two years.
A grand jury last week added 16 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm to first-degree murder charges against Jason Van Dyke, who shot 17-year-old Laquan McDonald in October 2014. Van Dyke, who now faces 23 felony counts in all, was charged in 2015 on the same day that city officials released graphic video footage of the shooting, which was characterized as “chilling” by the Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez.
“To watch a 17-year-old young man die in such a violent manner is deeply disturbing, and I have absolutely no doubt that this video will tear at the hearts of all Chicagoans,” she said in November 2015 of the 7-minute clip.
Van Dyke, meanwhile, says she needs to be able to support her two daughters as the wife of an officer suspended without pay and with no health insurance.
“I need to be able to take care of my children,” she told the Tribune. “It would have been a huge financial ease off our shoulders. It was something I was interested in doing.
“I do like helping others. I know it wasn’t going to be easy by any means. It’s a hard job for anyone to have to go into the jail and be a correctional officer. But I believe I’m a strong enough human being to be able to handle it, both physically and emotionally, but unfortunately they didn’t want to give me a chance.”
An attorney representing Jason Van Dyke said he thinks the decision not to resolve the employment issue is undoubtedly political.
“I think his decision (to hire the officer’s wife) would be questioned, and it would hurt him politically,” attorney Daniel Herbert said of Sheriff Tom Dart. “You cannot fire someone for an illegal reason. People are free to associate with whomever they want under the First Amendment, and if someone is being terminated because of who they are married to, that’s a violation of their constitutional rights.”
