(ANTIMEDIA) Chicago — Three Chicago cops have been indicted on felony charges, it was reported Tuesday, for allegedly conspiring to aid a fellow officer in covering up details of the 2014 killing of teenager Laquan McDonald.
Detective David March and beat cops Joseph Walsh and Thomas Gaffney have each been charged with obstruction of justice, conspiracy, and official misconduct. A special grand jury approved the three-count indictments on Monday, and charges were officially filed by the city government on Tuesday.
On a night back in October of 2014, police officer Jason Van Dyke shot 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times as he was walking away. A year later, after dashcam footage of the incident was released, Van Dyke — who has since resigned — was charged with murder. Then, in March of this year, an additional 16 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm were added — one count for each shot the former cop fired at the teenager.
Now, the officers who allegedly tried to cover for their brother in blue will stand trial. The special prosecutor in the case said in a press release that the city employees did “more than merely obey an unofficial ‘code of silence,’” and in fact, “lied about what occurred to prevent independent criminal investigators from learning the truth.”
Specifically, the indictment alleges that March, Walsh, and Gaffney worked in coordination to prevent the public from seeing the dashcam footage that “would inexorably lead to a thorough criminal investigation by an independent body and likely criminal charges.”
Van Dyke, the former officer who killed McDonald, has pleaded not guilty to the accusation of murder, and his attorneys are currently working to have all charges dropped.
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