Chicago’s police superintendent on Thursday called for the city to fire seven of its officers for providing false information concerning the death of Laquan McDonald, a black teenager who was shot and killed by a white officer almost two years ago.
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In a statement released Thursday, the Chicago Police Department said it had reviewed reports on the case by the city’s inspector general, who alleged that the officers filed false police reports.
The Latest on Chicago police recommending that seven police officer be fired in the Laquan McDonald case (all times local): 11:45 a.m. Police Department Spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi confirmed that they had received the report, but did not confirm if Superintendent Eddie Johnson would follow the recommendations or not. McNaughton had signed off on the story of the shooter, Jason Van Dyke, story that he feared for his life when he shot McDonald. Van Dyke has been charged with first-degree murder and is on unpaid leave.
Van Dyke has pleaded not guilty.
Demonstrators confront police officers during a protest in reaction to the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald in Chicago, Illinois, November 27, 2015.
The inspector general’s report centered on the actions of 10 officers.
Supt. Eddie Johnson said the officers linked to the shooting covered up the truth in their report. Johnson didn’t name the officers but said he supports firing seven of the remaining eight individuals, according to The Chicago Tribune.
The officers portrayed McDonald as waving a knife threateningly before Officer Jason Van Dyke shot the black teenager.
Several protests occurred in Chicago after the video was released. Over time, it has been determined that at least seven of the officers involved lied and now the axe is ready to fall on their career with the Chicago Police Department. Video footage of the deadly shooting showed the 19-year-old Black man with a knife in his hand walking parallel, but away from, responding officers.
Johnson’s call to fire the officers broadens the political and departmental fallout, which includes pressure on Mayor Rahm Emanuel to provide more transparency and overhaul the police disciplinary system to break down an entrenched “code of silence” among officers and build public trust. Video seemed to belie those accounts.
“Our formal response to the inspector general was sent this morning”.
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More than 12 months later, the Chicago police accountability task force found that the teenager had posed “no immediate threat to anyone”.
