The Chicago police superintendent has recommended firing seven officers for lying about the 2014 fatal police shooting of Laquan McDonald, a police spokesman said Thursday, in the department’s strongest move yet to increase accountability in the wake of the scandal.
The superintendent’s decision follows a report by the city’s inspector general sent to the department this week that recommended firing 10 officers involved in the case, police spokesman Frank Giancamilli said. Two of the 10 officers, including a deputy chief who signed off on the shooting as within department policy, have retired.
All are accused of covering up for their colleague Jason Van Dyke, who fatally shot 17-year-old Mr. McDonald 16 times. Video of the incident, released a year after the shooting occurred, sparked widespread protests, the firing of the former chief and a Justice Department probe of the Chicago department.