The opinion found that the department violated the Illinois Freedom of Information Act when it failed to seek and search personal email accounts belonging to 12 police officers after news network CNN submitted a request about the killing of Laquan McDonald.
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Van Dyke was charged with murder previous year in McDonald’s 2014 death after the city released dash-cam footage of the incident.
Meantime, Police Supt. Eddie Johnson continues to analyze Chicago Inspector General Joseph Ferguson’s report on the McDonald investigation. He then moved on to lead the Office of Crime Control Strategies and his dedication and commitment towards advancing the police department and our use of data and intelligence to fight crime is immeasurable.
Spokesman Anthony Guglielmi says the department is reviewing the report and will respond.
The announcement comes after the Chicago Sun-Times reported that a “scathing assessment” by the city that recommends at least 10 police officers involved in the McDonald case “be fired or severely disciplined”. When the review is completed, the superintendent will issue a decision to the Inspector General. McDonald, who was carrying a knife but walking away from officers, was shot 16 times.
But dashcam video of the shooting does not support that account.
Police shootings typically are investigated by the Independent Police Review Authority, which is widely known for conducting cursory investigations that have nearly always cleared officers.
Dash cam video released in November contradicted accounts by officers on the scene that the 17-year-old McDonald lunged at officers with a knife, on October 20, 2014.
Though Van Dyke is the only officer charged in the McDonald case, several other officers joined him in writing reports about the shooting that conflict with the video.
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The statements prompted police supervisors to rule McDonald’s death a justifiable homicide just hours after he was killed.
