Only one officer, Jason Van Dyke, has been charged with first-degree murder. Atlanta Black Star reached out to the Chicago Police Department to confirm but was unable to get an answer. Two more officers have already left the department: A deputy chief who signed off on a report justifying the shooting retired last week, and a lieutenant retired in May.
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The report initially recommended 10 officers be fired or severely disciplined in the case.
Superintendent Eddie Johnson’s decision comes 22 months after Officer Jason Van Dyke unloaded 16 bullets into McDonald, and nine months after Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder shortly before the city-under court order-released video of the shooting that contradicted Van Dyke’s claim he was acting in self-defense when he opened fire. Although Blacks make up only 32.3 percent of Chicago’s overall population, from 2009 to 2013 three-quarters of those shot by police were Black.
Chicago’s police superintendent is recommending seven officers be fired after finding that they gave false statements in the 2014 shooting death of 17-year-old African-American Laquan McDonald by a white officer. The graphic footage shows Van Dyke shooting the teen execution-style as he walked away.
Chief prosecutor Anita Alvarez came under attack for waiting more than a year to file charges against Officer Van Dyke. He’s now awaiting trial.
“I don’t see how they can change back to the way things were before”, he said. “When the witnesses refused to do so, the investigating officers simply fabricated civilian accounts in the reports”. In November, a dashcam video of the shooting was released, leading to protests.
In June, authorities in the crime-wracked city, hoping to fix relations, released a trove of videos, audio recordings and materials related to active investigations of police conduct.
The shooting and attempted cover-up sparked national outrage across the country, as protesters demanded justice for McDonald and his family.
Eddie Johnson speaks to the press after being sworn in as Chicago Police Superintendent on April 13 in Chicago.
Angelo said the seven officers must rightly wonder if the police board will listen to them defend their actions that night given months of protests against police in Chicago and other USA cities.
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In a statement, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel welcomed the recommendations, saying the city “must also recommit ourselves to partnering together to rebuild trust between our police department and our residents”.
