VAN DYKE SENTENCED: Former Chicago police officer given 81 months for killing teen Laquan McDonald

Several black motorists testified Friday that the white officer who fatally shot Laquan McDonald used a racial slur and excessive force during traffic stops in the years before the 2014 killing that was captured on a shocking dashcam video.

Jason Van Dyke was in court to be sentenced for second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery - one for each bullet he fired. He faces at least several years in prison, if not decades, after being convicted in October.

One of the witnesses, Vidale Joy, said Van Dyke used a racial slur after pulling him over in 2005 and at one point put a gun to Joy's head. He said Van Dyke "looked infuriated" and seemed "out of his mind." Under cross examination, Joy acknowledged that he did not allege Van Dyke used a slur in his first accounts of the stop.

Another witness, Ed Nance, struggled to maintain his composure as he looked across the room to identify Van Dyke. Testifying about a 2007 traffic stop, he said the officer cursed and slammed him on the car's hood, grabbed him by the arms and pulled him to the squad car.

Hours later, Van Dyke's relatives tried to defend and humanize him, saying he's a good father and husband who goes out of his way to help and who is not racist.

The issue of race has loomed over the case for more than four years, although it was rarely raised at trial. One of the only instances was during opening statements, when special prosecutor Joseph McMahon told jurors that Van Dyke saw "a black boy walking down the street" who had "the audacity to ignore the police."

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