Chicago activists welcome move to fire officers

Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson is seeking to fire seven officers for allegedly falsifying information in the Laquan McDonald shooting, CPD spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Thursday.

A spokesperson for the Chicago Police confirmed to BuzzFeed News that the Department will recommend the termination of seven of those officers to the Police Board, which will ultimately decide whether the officers will be fired.

Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said he accepted the recommendations of the OIG as the other officers’ reports regarding the shooting do not match video of the October 2014 shooting, the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper reports.

The head of Chicago’s police union questions whether seven officers recommended for dismissal for allegedly filing false reports in the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald can get a fair hearing. The Inspector General’s investigation into the shooting will continue.

Van Dyke is charged with first-degree murder on McDonald’s death.

Laquan McDonald was shot 16 times by Chicago police officer Jason van Dyke.

A Minnesota police chief is defending his officer who shot and killed a black man during a July traffic stop.

Police dashboard-camera footage showing the fatal exchange between the police officer and McDonald caused national protests after the police department released it last November. Atlanta Black Star reached out to the Chicago Police Department to confirm but was unable to get an answer.

Johnson will take his recommendation to the city’s police board, which will make the final decision on whether the officers should be fired. Mayor Rahm Emanuel, D, who was highly criticized over how officials handled the shooting, forced out the city’s police superintendent, Garry McCarthy.

“I don’t see how they can change back to the way things were before”, he said. Video footage of the deadly shooting showed the 19-year-old Black man with a knife in his hand walking parallel, but away from, responding officers. After one or two shots, McDonald collapses, barely moving except for slight twitches as bullets pummel his body. Prosecutors say the 3-inch blade was found folded into the handle. Two other police officers that Ferguson recommended be fired have retired.

The inspector general’s report centred on the actions of 10 officers.