Superintendent Eddie Johnson’s decision was announced on Thursday almost two years after Officer Jason Van Dyke fired 16 shots at Laquan McDonald, a 17-year-old African-American, in October of 2014.
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Superintendent Eddie Johnson said in a statement Thursday that after reviewing documents, video and other evidence, he was accepting the recommendation of the city’s inspector general to fire seven officers due to their accounts of the incident.
Two of the 10 officers who were recommended for firing retired this week, according to media reports. All are accused of. Many Chicagoans are going to believe that whatever disciplinary moves Johnson makes against a bunch of cops will be done with the mayor’s blessing.
The attorneys also alleged that officers up the chain of command fabricated witness accounts to support the way police at the scene described what happened.
As for the tenth office, the department said it “respectfully disagrees with the OIG’s recommendation for separation and feels that there is insufficient ecidence to prove those respective allegations”.
“I have bittersweet emotions on John’s decision to accept this incredible opportunity as our Police Department will lose a very dedicated and intelligent crime fighter who cares deeply about the people and safety of our city”. That finding was harshly criticized when police dashcam video of the shooting was released in November under a judge’s order. This is separate from the ongoing criminal case against Van Dyke and the federal probe into the McDonald shooting.
The officer who shot McDonald 16 times, Jason Van Dyke, was charged with first-degree murder and is awaiting trial. The superintendent did not disclose the names of the seven police officers.
Police superintendent, Eddie Johnson, said that seven officers had made false statements in the aftermath of the October 2014 shooting and should be dismissed, and he has stripped them of their police powers. The case has led to increased scrutiny and skepticism of the department, including a Justice Department investigation into Chicago police practices and the firing of the previous police superintendent a year ago as protests intensified. He has been suspended without pay, a Chicago Police Department spokesperson told ABC News.
Chicago police did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for additional comment Thursday.
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Escalante, chief of detectives at the time of the shooting who was promoted to first deputy superintendent the month before the video was released, became interim superintendent in December as part of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s effort to restore trust in both the department and his own administration.
