A white Chicago police officer was convicted Friday for shooting and killing a black teenager back in 2014 in a case that police tried their best to coverup.
Jason Van Dyke was convicted of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm in the shooting death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald in a case that had the city bracing for riots in the event of an acquittal. Each count was for each time Van Dyke shot the teen.
It was a dash cam video that sealed Van Dyke’s fate – the video which they tried to keep from the public for more than a year – which showed him advancing on McDonald while firing his gun after the teen started walking away from the cop.
But Van Dyke argued that the video did not show what really happened, which he explained was that he was the one back pedaling from an advancing McDonald, which is why he was so fearful for his life.
His fellow officers went along with the coverup from the very beginning, writing collaborating police reports that did not match with what was recorded on the dash cam video.
In fact, three Chicago cops, Detective David March and officers Thomas Gaffney and Joseph Walsh, were charged with conspiracy, official misconduct and obstruction of justice for their role in the coverup.
They have yet to go to trial and there appears to be more cops involved in the coverup:
According to the Chicago Sun-Times:
> Jason Van Dyke’s fellow officers began working to keep him out of trouble almost immediately after he shot Laquan McDonald, and detectives and higher-ranking officers continued to try to protect him even months after the department cleared him of wrongdoing, according to a court document unsealed Thursday.
> The document, released by Cook County Judge Domenica Stephenson in response to a lawsuit by the Chicago Sun-Times and other media outlets, includes an outline of the case Special Prosecutor Patricia Brown Holmes intends to make against Chicago Police Officers Thomas Gaffney and Joseph Walsh and Det. David March.
> The three men were charged with conspiracy, misconduct and obstruction of justice for filing false reports in Van Dyke’s case, but the newly unsealed document points to numerous other unnamed officers who were at the scene or involved in the ensuing investigation of the shooting who allegedly worked to protect Van Dyke.
Van Dyke’s bail was revoked and he was taken into custody after the verdict. He has not yet been sentenced but is expected to receive anywhere between six to 30 years in prison.
Many people were hoping for a first-degree murder conviction but said they were satisfied with the verdict.
Click the above video to see the shooting.
We will be updating this article throughout the day, so come back for updates.
