What Police Said About The Killing Of Laquan McDonald Before

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Bernie Sanders Calls For Resignations of Officials Who Covered Up Teen’s Death
by Andrew Emett
December 4, 2015

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In response to a recently released police dashcam video depicting the death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, Sen. Bernie Sanders has called for a federal investigation into the Chicago Police Department. But unlike presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Sanders also said any elected official, including possibly Mayor Rahm Emanuel and State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, should resign if involved in suppressing the video or attempting to cover up the fatal shooting.

“I join with those calling for a federal investigation into the practices of the Chicago Police Department. Futhermore, any official who helped suppress the videotape of Laquan McDonald’s murder should be held accountable. And any elected official with knowledge that the tape was being suppressed or improperly withheld should resign. No one should be shielded by power or position,” Sanders said in a statement released to the Chicago Sun-Times on Friday.

After shooting McDonald 16 times on October 20, 2014, Officer Jason Van Dyke initially claimed that the teen had lunged at him with a knife in the moments before the shooting. But police and city officials were aware of a dashcam video that recorded the shooting and revealed that McDonald was walking away from the officer when Van Dyke opened fire. Instead of releasing the footage to the public, officials suppressed the video for 13 months.

As the city of Chicago denied multiple requests to release the footage, freelance journalist Brandon Smith filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. When his FOIA request was denied, Smith filed a lawsuit against the city. After Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan found the police department’s claims to withhold the video were unsubstantiated, Cook County Judge Franklin Valderrama ordered the city to release the footage by no later than November 25.

Within hours of arresting Van Dyke for first-degree murder, the city finally released the police dashcam video on November 24. Hours after the shooting, officers obtained a second video recorded by a nearby Burger King. District Manager Jay Darshane has accused the police of deleting 86 minutes of surveillance video, which recorded the fatal shooting.

On Wednesday, Clinton also called for the Justice Department to launch an investigation into the Chicago Police Department, but she did not demand the resignations of any elected officials involved in suppressing the evidence. Instead of asking President Obama’s former chief of staff to step down, Clinton’s campaign issued a lobotomized statement saying, “She knows Mayor Emanuel loves Chicago, and is sure he wants to do all he can to restore trust in the Chicago Police Department.”

On Friday, Sanders took to Twitter reiterating, “Any elected official with knowledge that the tape was being suppressed or improperly withheld should resign.”

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Police Superintendent Recommends Firing 7 Officers Involved In Teen’s Death
by Andrew Emett
August 18, 2016

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Accused of making false reports and covering up the police shooting of a 17-year-old boy caught on video, seven Chicago police officers involved in the death of Laquan McDonald could be terminated for their actions following the shooting. Although the city’s inspector general recommended firing 10 cops, at least two of the officers have retired since the incident.

Surrounded by officers and suspected of breaking into cars on October 20, 2014, McDonald was attempting to walk away from a group of Chicago cops when Officer Jason Van Dyke exited his patrol car. According to initial reports, McDonald was armed with a knife and lunged at Officer Van Dyke. Fearing for his life and the lives of his fellow officers, Van Dyke shot the teen in the chest out of self-defense.

But according to witness statements and police dashcam video, McDonald was walking away when Van Dyke took a step towards the teen before opening fire. After McDonald collapsed to the ground in a fetal position, Van Dyke continued firing his weapon until emptying his clip. As Van Dyke began reloading his gun, a fellow officer had to order him to cease firing at the defenseless teen.

McDonald’s autopsy revealed that Van Dyke shot him 16 times, including two bullets in the back, seven in his arms, two in his right leg, once on each side of his chest, and single bullet wounds to his right hand, scalp, and neck. Nine of the 16 entrance wounds had a downward trajectory. None of the five other officers at the scene fired their weapons.

Before McDonald’s family could even file a lawsuit, the city gave them a $5 million settlement on the condition that the family agreed not to publicly release the dashcam footage of the teen’s death. After suppressing the video for 13 months, the city received a court order to release the footage, which clearly shows McDonald did not lunge at the officers before the fatal shooting.

In May 2015, Burger King district manager Jay Darshane accused officers of deleting security footage after they spent over three hours in the fast food restaurant on the night of the shooting. According to Darshane, the video equipment was working properly, but 86 minutes of footage, from 9:13 p.m. to 10:39 p.m., disappeared after the officers left.

Charged with first-degree murder for killing McDonald, Van Dyke fired his first shot at 9:57 p.m. When asked if he was certain that the officers deleted the footage of the killing, Darshane answered, “Yes.”

Earlier this week, Inspector General Joseph Ferguson accused 10 Chicago cops of making false reports about the McDonald shooting and recommended firing eight of the officers, due to the fact that two had recently retired. According to the Chicago Tribune, Deputy Chief David McNaughton and Lt. Anthony Wojcik were both involved in the investigation and retired before the release of the inspector general’s report. In charge of the shooting scene, McNaughton had falsely reported that McDonald was approaching Van Dyke when the officer opened fire.

On Thursday, Superintendent Eddie Johnson called for seven of the officers involved in McDonald’s investigation to be terminated for writing false reports and giving false statements. Although Johnson did not publicly disclose the names of the officers, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Van Dyke’s partner on the night of the shooting, Joseph Walsh, is among the seven officers facing termination.

Unable to unilaterally fire the seven officers, Johnson has stripped them of their police status pending a decision from the Chicago Police Board. Accused of obstructing a police investigation and making false statements, no other officer except Van Dyke currently faces criminal charges.