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Officer Thomas Gaffney, former Officer Joseph Walsh, and former Detective David March were just found not guilty for covering up the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald.
Each were charged with conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and official misconduct for allegedly exaggerating the threat that 17-year-old McDonald posed to officers.
Judge Domenica Stephenson: 3 cops in Laquan McDonald conspiracy not guilty on all counts.
— Andy Grimm (@agrimm34) January 17, 2019
Prosecutors claimed the police reports filed by those officers were part of a conspiracy to cover up for Officer Jason Van Dyke, who shot McDonald 16 times on Oct. 20, 2014.
Officials said the officers’ statements did not match up with the dashcam recording of the shooting.
Last October, Van Dyke was found guilty for the 2014 shooting death of Laquan Mcdonald. Van Dyke shot the 17-year-old 16 times and continued to fire his weapon even as the teenager was on the ground.
None of the other officers on the scene opened fire.
VanDyke is scheduled to be sentenced tomorrow. Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan‘s sentence could range from probation to what amounts to life in prison.
The jury found Van Dyke guilty of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery. Van Dyke was found not guilty of official misconduct. This came after Van Dyke took to the stand in his own defense, giving a version of the fateful encounter that did not correlate with the video evidence prosecutors presented.
ABC7 Chicago spoke with the only African-American on the jury for her opinion on VanDyke’s potential sentencing: “If it was me, I would give life. … I don’t want to see him get a slap on the wrist just because they feel he’s a police officer and people are feeling sorry for him,” said Charlene Cooke.
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