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U.S. NEWS Friday 18 January 2019

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Judge acquits 3 Chicago officers of Laquan McDonald cover-up

By DON BABWIN and MI- doing by their colleagues. was imminent," she said. "It
CHAEL TARM "The next officer is going to was borne out in the video
CHICAGO (AP) — A judge think twice about filing a that McDonald continued
on Thursday acquitted false police report. Do they to move after he fell to the
three Chicago officers of want to go through this?" ground" and refused to re-
trying to cover up the 2014 Special prosecutor Patri- linquish a knife.
shooting of Laquan Mc- cia Brown Holmes said she The video appeared to
Donald, dismissing as just hoped the verdict would show the teen collapsing
one perspective the shock- not make officers reluctant in a heap after the first few
ing dashcam video of the to come forward when shots and moving in large
black teenager's death they see misconduct. Her part because bullets kept
that led to protests, a fed- key witness, officer Dora striking his body for 10 more This combination of Nov. 28, 2018 file photos shows former Chi-
eral investigation of the po- Fontaine, described how seconds. cago Police officer Joseph Walsh, left, former detective David
lice department and the she had become a pariah The judge said it's not un- March and former officer Thomas Gaffney, accused of trying
rare murder conviction of in the department and was usual for two witnesses to to cover up the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald, during a
bench trial before Judge Domenica A. Stephenson at Leighton
an officer. called a "rat" by fellow of- describe events in starkly Criminal Court Building in Chicago.
In casting off the prosecu- ficers. different ways. "It does not Associated Press
tion's entire case, Judge The shooting has provoked necessarily mean that one
Domenica Stephenson periodic street protests is lying," she said. sync with what millions of lice SUV and continuing to
seemed to accept many since 2015, when the video The judge also noted sev- people saw in the video. shoot the 17-year-old while
of the same defense argu- came to light, and the ac- eral times that the vantage Both Van Dyke's trial and he was lying on the street.
ments that were rejected in quittals could renew that points of various officers that of the three other of- Police were responding to
October by jurors who con- movement. who witnessed the shoot- ficers hinged on the video, a report of a male who was
victed officer Jason Van "We will be down here to- ing were "completely dif- which showed Van Dyke breaking into trucks and
Dyke of second-degree morrow by the hundreds, ferent." That could explain opening fire within seconds stealing radios on the city's
murder and aggravated and we will cry out for jus- why their accounts did not of getting out of his po- South Side.q
battery. He is scheduled to tice for Laquan," activist
be sentenced Friday. Eric Russell said.
The judge said the video The trial was watched
showed only one viewpoint closely by law enforcement
of the confrontation and and critics of the depart-
that there was no indica- ment, which has long had
tion the officers tried to a reputation for condoning
hide evidence. police brutality.
"The evidence shows just Officer Joseph Walsh, of-
the opposite," she said. She ficer Thomas Gaffney and
singled out how they pre- detective David March
served the graphic video were accused of conspir-
at the heart of the case. acy, official misconduct
McDonald's family ques- and obstruction of justice.
tioned how the two cases All but Gaffney have since
could produce such differ- left the department. They
ent decisions. His great un- asked the judge, rather
cle, the Rev. Marvin Hunter, than a jury, to hear the evi-
told reporters that the ver- dence.
dict means "that if you are After the verdict, Walsh
a police officer you can lie, would say only that the or-
cheat and steal." deal of being charged and
"To say that these men are tried was "heart-breaking
not guilty is to say that Ja- for my family, a year and a
son Van Dyke is not guilty." half."
He added: "It is a sad day In her ruling , the judge re-
for America." jected prosecution argu-
Prosecutor Ron Safer tried ments that the video dem-
to put a positive spin on the onstrated officers were ly-
verdict. ing when they described
"This case was a case where McDonald as moving and
the code of silence was on posing a threat even after
trial," he said, referring to he was shot.
the long tradition that of- "An officer could have rea-
ficers don't report wrong- sonably believed an attack