Three officers involved in the fatal shooting of Chicago teen Laquan McDonald were indicted on Tuesday.
According to CNN, Former Detective David March, former Patrol Officer Joseph Walsh and Patrol Officer Thomas Gaffney were charged with conspiracy, official misconduct and obstruction of justice.
“The indictment makes clear that these defendants did more than merely obey an unofficial ‘code of silence,’ rather it alleges that they lied about what occurred to prevent independent criminal investigators from learning the truth,” Special Prosecutor Patricia Brown Holmes said.
Seventeen-year-old Laquan McDonald was fatally shot on October 20, 2014 after being struck by police bullets. Video footage of the shooting showed McDonald walking away from the officer before the shooting. Officer Jason Van Dyke is seen discharging his weapon at McDonald more than a dozen times in less than 15 seconds.
In February, Illinois Congressman Bobby Lee Rush introduced the Laquan McDonald Act, which has a mission to hold officers accountable by restricting federal funds from law enforcement agencies that fail to enforce body camera and dash cam policies.
“Cases, such as Laquan McDonald, Mike Brown, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile are brutal illustrations on why we need a clear documentation of facts when citizen-encounters with police turn deadly,” Rush said.
Former President Barack Obama acknowledged the McDonald shooting in 2015 saying he was “deeply disturbed” by the footage of the incident.
