CHICAGO Ahead of Jason Van Dyke’s scheduled release from prison, community activists are asking members of CTA workers’ unions to walk off the job for 16 days, marking the 16 shots Van Dyke fired at Laquan McDonald in 2014.

In 2018, Ex-Chicago Police officer Jason Van Dyke was found guilty of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery in Laquan McDonald’s killing, captured on police dash cam. Van Dyke is set to be released early from prison next month before serving half of his six year, nine month sentence.

Activists first announced the plan to disrupt public transportation last week in a news conference on the city’s South Side. They took their message to the Magnificent Mile earlier this week, and today to the Far Northwest Side.  

“This is going to be an inconvenience, I’m not going to sit up here and sugarcoat this. This is going to be an inconvenience, but freedom is not free,” organizer William Calloway said.

The CTA tells WGN News it has no plans to shut down essential transit services, but activists say they’re moving forward with the goal of getting the attention of the U.S Attorney’s Office, urging they file federal charges against Van Dyke. 

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