Chicago officials have released hundreds of pages of documents surrounding the October 2014 execution of Laquan McDonald. The documents, released on December 4, include police officers’ written reports supporting the actions of then-Officer Jason Van Dyke in shooting the 17-year-old McDonald 16 times. That support consisted of statements by Van Dyke’s partner Joseph Walsh—and other officers at the scene—lying about the threat level that McDonald posed to Van Dyke’s life:
Van Dyke told an investigator McDonald was "swinging the knife in an aggressive, exaggerated manner" and "raised the knife across the chest" and pointed it at Van Dyke, according to one report. Multiple officers reported that even after McDonald was down, he kept trying to rise while holding the knife.
"In defense of his life, Van Dyke backpedaled and fired his handgun at McDonald, to stop the attack," one report reads. "McDonald fell to the ground but continued to move and continued to grasp the knife, refusing to let go of it."
The dash cam footage, which shows McDonald moving away from the officers with his hands down by his sides, not with his hand raised or lunging at Van Dyke, can be viewed here.
The willingness and ease with which police officers lie to cover up their crimes is as disheartening as the lack of efforts to hold them accountable.