3 Chicago police officers indicted in Laquan McDonald case

[edjr 5,552]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/3-chicago-police-officers-indicted-191116856.html

 

 

 

CHICAGO (AP) — Three Chicago police officers were indicted Tuesday on felony charges that they conspired to cover up the actions of a white police officer who shot and killed 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.

In an indictment approved Monday and announced Tuesday, a Cook County grand jury alleges that the three current and former officers lied about the events of Oct. 20, 2014 when Officer Jason Van Dyke shot the black teenager 16 times.

"The co-conspirators created police reports in the critical early hours and days following the killing of Laquan McDonald that contained important false information in an attempt to prevent or shape any criminal investigation," according to the indictment in which the three are charged with felony counts of obstruction of justice, official misconduct and conspiracy.

Patricia Brown Holmes, who was appointed special prosecutor last July to investigate officers at the scene and involved in the investigation of the shooting, said in a separate news release that the three — David March, Joseph Walsh and Thomas Gaffney — "coordinated their activities to protect each other and other members of the Chicago Police Department by furnishing false information, making false police reports, failing to report or correct false information, ignoring contrary information or evidence, obstructing justice, failing to perform a mandatory duty, and performing acts each knew to be forbidden to perform..."

"Further, the indictment makes clear that these defendants did more than merely obey an unofficial 'code of silence," Holds said in the statement. "It alleges that they lied about what occurred to prevent independent criminal investigators from learning the truth."

The indictment also alleges that the conspiracy included an effort not to try to locate and interview three witnesses whose accounts of what happened were not consistent with the police version of events.

The officers, the indictment alleges, began to conspire almost immediately on Oct. 20, 2014, "to conceal the true facts of the events surrounding the killing of Laquan McDonald" and "to shield their fellow officer from criminal investigation and prosecution." The indictment refers to that fellow officer only as "Individual A."

Among other steps the officers took was to prepare police reports that falsely portrayed themselves as victims of McDonald, according to the indictment says. It alleges the officers understood that, if video and other evidence became public, "it would inexorably lead to a thorough criminal investigation by an independent body and likely criminal charges."

The department did not immediately respond to a call from The Associated Press seeking comment, and it is was not clear which of the three officers are still with the department and which are no longer police officers. But in December, it was reported that Walsh and March were put on desk duty more than a year after McDonald was shot and well after the video was released that showed the accounts officers gave did not reflect what was captured on the now-famous dashboard camera.

Van Dyke was charged more than a year later with first-degree murder on the same day that the city — under orders from a judge — made public the dashboard camera video. He has pleaded not guilty.

If convicted, the men could face years in prison. The official misconduct charge alone carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $25,000 fine.

 

 

 

Good.

[cbfalcon 824]

Ed, this doesn't tell the whole story. Ever heard of the word "context"? I'll need video showing them as they conspired and created all those fake reports, as they may have legitimately feared for their lives while doing so.

[NewbieJr 540]

The best thing about the cell phone boom is how they're bringing a lot of really poor police work to light. Scary to think how much went on up until a few years ago and just totally got swept under the carpet.

[wiffleball 4,635]

Your honor, this individual - McDonald - possessed over FIFTEEN bullets at the time of his death.

What need could this man have to possess and carry THAT MUCH ammunition?

Clearly, he had ill intent - and clearly, our officers reasonably feared for their life.

[edjr 5,552]

Your honor, this individual - McDonald - possessed over FIFTEEN bullets at the time of his death.

What need could this man have to possess and carry THAT MUCH ammunition?

Clearly, he had ill intent - and clearly, our officers reasonably feared for their life.

 

Yeah but that is just the number of bullets the cops left inside his chest

[Alias Detective 1,179]

Ed, this doesn't tell the whole story. Ever heard of the word "context"? I'll need video showing them as they conspired and created all those fake reports, as they may have legitimately feared for their lives while doing so.

You are beginning to annoy me. I'm not sure if you try to be funny, witty or what, but you just annoy me. You are better when you act like a Casanova .

[Alias Detective 1,179]

The best thing about the cell phone boom is how they're bringing a lot of really poor police work to light. Scary to think how much went on up until a few years ago and just totally got swept under the carpet.

Very true. There are always bad apples. I prefer to side with the Cops until proven otherwise. Other's side with the "criminal" first.

[Hardcore troubadour 12,618]

Ok. Now what?

[Baker Boy 1,484]

Chicago sees violent carjackings surge

 

Violent carjackings—even in trendy neighborhoods -- have surged in Chicago, where gun violence has generated unflattering national headlines, the Chicago Tribune reported.

 

As of Oct. 18, there were 661 carjackings nearly surpassing the 663 carjackings recorded in all of 2016, according to the paper. Last year's number was nearly double the 339 in 2015 and the most since 2009.

 

Carjackings started to spike last year when homicides and shootings skyrocketed and crimes in virtually every other category rose, the paper reported.

 

The causes are unclear, according to the Tribune, but some officers felt the furor over the video showing police shoot teen Laquan McDonald 16 times led to many officers becoming less aggressive on the street, which in turn emboldened criminals.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/11/04/chicago-sees-violent-carjackings-surge-even-in-trendy-neighborhoods.html

[ZeroTolerance 582]

In other words, the actions of a few corrupt/incompetent police officers put the rest of the department in a tough position and resulted in an increase in crime. Good job everyone.

[edjr 5,552]

Ok. Now what?

 

We miss you.

 

alsonotreally

[Baker Boy 1,484]

'ACLU effect' is to blame for Chicago's sharp rise in crime, study says

 

The American Civil Liberties Union is to blame for a spike in bloodshed on the troubled streets of Chicago – that is the conclusion of a new study released by the University of Utah.

 

You may remember the shooting of Laquan McDonald. Dramatic video of a Chicago police officer shooting him 16 times was released in 2015. What followed was massive street demonstrations and strained discussion about ethnic profiling by police. Particular attention was paid to police officers stopping young black men and checking them for weapons.

 

An agreement was reached between the Chicago Police Department and the ACLU and, by 2016, a plan was implemented requiring street cops to fill out contact cards with enhanced detail explaining why individuals were stopped. The cards have 70 entries, some in essay form.

 

Authors of the study claim the paperwork takes 15 to 20 minutes to complete and has discouraged police from stopping suspicious people and checking them for weapons.

 

About 100,000 stops were recorded for all of 2016, an 82 percent decrease from 600,000 the previous year. For the same time period, gun violence spiked – 754 people were killed in Chicago, a 58 percent increase from 480 the previous year. The study concludes Chicago endured 1,100 additional shootings from the previous year

 

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/03/28/aclu-effect-is-to-blame-for-chicagos-sharp-rise-in-crime-study-says.html

[Hardcore troubadour 12,618]

There's never a happy, pragmatic medium to be reached when the hysterical left gets involved. They only know overkill.