3 Chicago Cops Charged With Obstruction in Laquan McDonald Case

Three current of former Chicago police officers were indicted Tuesday on state felony charges of conspiracy, obstruction, and misconduct in the investigation of the 2015 shooting that killed Laquan McDonald. According to the state’s special prosecutor, Detective David March and Patrol Officers Joseph Walsh and Thomas Gaffney lied about what occurred in the shooting, and misrepresenting a video recording of it, in order “to prevent independent criminal investigators from learning the truth” and with the alleged knowledge that public access to the shooting video “would inexorably lead to a thorough criminal investigation by an independent body and likely criminal charges.” The shooter himself, Officer Jason Van Dyke, resigned from the department in August 2016 and is facing a murder charge.