At least three witnesses to the McDonald killing were questioned for hours, threatened by officers and ordered to change their accounts to match the official Chicago police version of the shooting, the attorneys for the teen’s estate say. Typically, it takes a few months for there to be an evidentiary hearing where the police department and accused officers have a chance to make their case. It showed McDonald walking away from police as he held a knife, not lunging toward officers as police had said.
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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”.
The police department received criticism for taking over a year to release the video of Van Dyke shooting 17-year-old McDonald 16 times.
Van Dyke has been charged with first-degree murder.
Those officers include First Deputy Superintendent John Escalante, who accepted a position as the chief of police for Northeastern Illinois University, and Deputy Chief David McNaughton.
The recommendation comes a week after Chicago police Inspector General Joseph Ferguson’s report on the incident in which he recommended that 10 officers involved with the shooting be fired.
Superintendent Eddie Johnson based his decision on the Chicago inspector general’s report, he said Thursday.
Rachel Leven, a spokeswoman for the Inspector General’s office, said its policy on sustained investigations of wrongdoing is to release summaries in the office’s quarterly report – the next of which is due to be released in October.
In addition, two other high-ranking officers retired during the city’s long-delayed response to the incident. A video of the murder was released one year after the shooting, which showed the teenager – though holding a knife – was not a threat to Van Dyke, according to The Associated Press.
Johnson stripped the police status of the seven officers he recommended firing. That report recommended firing 10 officers, The Chicago Tribune reports, but two have retired, and Mr. Johnson found “insufficient evidence” that the tenth officer had violated Rule 14, which prohibits making false written or oral reports.
None of accused officers have been named, but a lot of them were at the scene of the shooting.
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A spokesman for Emanuel and the president of the local police union did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The officers, who were not named, will have a chance to contest the action before the city’s Police Board, whose members are appointed by Emanuel.
