10 CPD Officers Could Be Discplined Or Fired Due To New Laquan McDonald Report

By Gwendolyn Purdom in News on Aug 15, 2016 9:45PM

A still from the Laquan McDonald dashcam video.

One high-ranking Chicago police official has already stepped down, and a new report from the city's inspector general is recommending at least ten officers be disciplined or fired for their involvement in the 2014 Laquan McDonald shooting case, the Sun-Times is reporting. Sources told the paper that Deputy Chief David McNaughton retired Friday in response to the release of the report.

McNaughton and other involved officers, should Police Chief Eddie Johnson decide to punish them, would be the latest police department employees to fall in connection to the racially-and-emotionally-charged controversy. In May, Cook County State Attorney Anita Alvarez recused herself from prosecuting the case against Jason Van Dyke, the police officer charged with murder after shooting McDonald 16 times. In July, a judge ruled that a special prosecutor will be appointed to investigate whether officers took part in a cover-up.

People were outraged when video of McDonald's death, which was finally released in November of last year, appeared to contradict details officers had given of what happened. Massive protests and even an investigation by the Department of Justice ensued. In March, Alvarez lost her re-election bid in a political upset many attributed to her botched handling of the McDonald case. Last month, Hillary Clinton invoked McDonald's death and the CPD response to it as a symbol of the national progress that still needs to be made with regard to police accountability during a campaign speech in Springfield.

According to the Sun-Times, the head of the Independent Police Review Authority requested this new examination of the case from the inspector general in December to help restore public trust in the system. Chief Johnson has yet to make an official announcement regarding disciplinary action against the officers involved.