Chicago’s top cop Eddie Johnson is recommending termination for seven of the 10 officers on the scene the night that Laquan McDonald was executed. Jason Van Dyke, the officer that fired the fatal shots, is currently awaiting trial after being charged with McDonald’s murder. Joseph Walsh, the officer who partnered with Van Dyke the night of McDonald’s murder, is among the seven officers facing the boot for lying in their accounts of what happened:
Van Dyke’s partner, Walsh, said McDonald continued to advance on them, ignoring commands to drop a knife in his hand. McDonald swung the knife at the officers in an “aggressive manner” when he was 12 to 15 feet away, Walsh told investigators.
But a video from a police vehicle showed that the knife-wielding McDonald was walking away from the officers — parallel to them — when he was shot 16 times by Van Dyke.
Van Dyke also lied about his shooting of McDonald, while Walsh was more than likely backing up his partner’s account as dictated by the so-called “blue wall” of silence.
Although Johnson’s recommendations have to be approved by the Chicago Police Board, his decision is still a welcome move toward greater police accountability. The video of McDonald’s murder was so inflammatory it unleashed calls for a complete overhaul of the Chicago Police Department. University of Chicago law professor Craig Futterman noted that if Eddie Johnson is to be successful in his moves toward accountability, he must swing his axe equally, with no hesitation.
Friday, Aug 19, 2016 · 5:04:45 PM +00:00
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Thandisizwe Chimurenga
ADDENDUM: Left out of this post: of the 10 officers total on the scene that night, Superintendent Johnson wanted to fire eight (8) of them; two retired, so they escaped the ax. Johnson did not feel that one (particular) female officer on the scene should be fired.
If Johnson is truly determined to “walk the talk,” he can’t just “pick on the rank-and-file” officers accused of covering up the Laquan McDonald shooting.
“It’s far more egregious when and if there are high-level police brass involved in participating or directing that code. And there’s a lot of evidence to believe that it did” in the Laquan McDonald case, he said.
“There was an official narrative approved at the highest levels that the video showed was a lie. There was no doubt that statement was false and yet, it was never corrected by anyone in the city in the 13 or 14 months that followed until a judge ordered the release of the truth,” Futterman said.
As a refresher, the proffer for bail for Van Dyke, arrested in November 2015, provides the details of why Van Dyke was charged with murder. You can watch the graphic video of Van Dyke shooting McDonald below.