Three Chicago Cops Prepare for Trial of Black Teen's Murder

Three Chicago police officers will arrive in court Tuesday to testify on charges of conspiracy surrounding the death of the Black teenager in 2014.

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On an October night four years ago, 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was shot 16 times by Officer Jason Van Dyke while his fellow officers, ex-Detective David March and former officers Joseph Walsh and Thomas Gaffney, watched.

Dyke was found guilty of aggravated battery and second-degree murder, however, due to his partners’ attempts to prevent and mislead independent investigators pursuing the murder case, the trio face charges of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and misconduct.

In accordance with requests for a bench trial, Associate Judge Domenica Stephenson at the Cook County courthouse will oversee the proceedings and rule over the case.

Special Prosecutor Patricia Brown Holmes says she believes there could be at least 6 other officers involved in the brutal episode. At least 11 policemen were suspended by the Inspector General following McDonald’s death. Holmes is leading the team of private attorneys behind the 2017 charges of obstruction of justice and criminal conspiracy.

Journalist Jamie Kalven who was behind the release of police videos and reports documenting the incident said, "Obviously, it’s appalling when an officer shoots somebody without justification. Those shootings happen too often, but it’s still so rare. The kind of creative writing we saw in (the Van Dyke) case where reports are falsified to create an official narrative that defies reality, we have reason to believe that happens all the time. And that’s what this case is about."

On October 20, 2014, a 911 call reported McDonald was allegedly breaking into vehicles parked in a lot at the southern end of the city. Gaffney and his partner were among the first to respond and chased McDonald down.

According to footage captured by a police dashcam, the teen waved a knife in a non-aggressive “swaying motion,” which triggered shots from Van Dyke’s rifle. McDonald was dead within 1.6 seconds of hitting the ground, but the officer continued to fire at him for another 12.5 seconds.