Officer acquitted in man’s shooting at Chicago train station
A jury found Police Officer Dante Servin not guilty Wednesday of first-degree murder in the August shooting of Anthony Thomas Jr., who was shot during an altercation at a train station in Chicago. (Reuters)
A jury found Police Officer Dante Servin not guilty Wednesday of first-degree murder in the August shooting of Anthony Thomas Jr., who was shot during an altercation at a train station in Chicago. (Reuters)
A Chicago jury on Wednesday found a police officer not guilty of murder following a shooting in which he was accused of firing into a crowd of young men at a train station.
In a statement after the verdict was read Wednesday afternoon, the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police called the verdict “a huge step towards justice for the victims of this senseless tragedy.”
“Today, justice has been served and we can move forward,” they said.
The jury deliberated more than five hours before reaching its verdict.
Servin and the man with whom he worked, who has not been identified but who was found guilty of a gun offense, sat together and shook hands for approximately 10 minutes after the jury was dismissed.
Servin was also joined in the courtroom by his attorneys, but the attorneys did not enter the courtroom.
Before the verdict was read, in the courtroom, the victims’ family members and the Rev. Al Sharpton spoke to reporters and expressed their grief over the shooting death of Anthony Thomas Jr.
Sharpton described Thomas as a “kind man.” Sharpton said Thomas was shot when the officer pointed a gun at him. Thomas’ attorney has said Thomas was walking toward a police car that was stopped in traffic, when he heard what he believed was a gunshot.
“To think that a white Chicago police officer shot a black man in front of his father was wrong,” said Sharpton, who also noted