Three Chicago police officers were indicted Tuesday on charges related to an alleged cover-up in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.
The incident took place in 2014, when officer Jason Van Dyke shot and killed 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, who was carrying a knife at the time, according to the Chicago Police Department. Van Dyke was charged with first degree murder on Nov. 24, 2015, and he was suspended that same day without pay.
Last year, Chicago police called for the dismissal of other police officers for allegedly lying about details surrounding the shooting, noted The Washington Post.
On Tuesday, Detective David March and officers Thomas Gaffney and Joseph Walsh were charged with conspiracy, official misconduct and obstruction of justice, the Chicago Tribune reported.
A dashcam video of the incident was used for internal investigations and later released to the public. The Chicago Tribune posted a excerpt from the video.
"Investigating and charging police officers with crimes related to their duties is a sobering responsibility," special prosecutor Patricia Brown Holmes said at a news conference, according to NBC Chicago. While they are sworn to serve and protect as well as uphold the law, they are not above the law."
The three police officers stand accused of writing incident reports containing false information in a deliberate attempt to mislead the investigations.
The 11-page indictment calls into question initial reports that three officers had been battered during the incident and statements claiming that McDonald used his knife to threaten Van Dyke, reported CNN.
Another key point listed in the indictment is that witnesses and police had conflicting versions of how the incident unfolded, and police officers failed to follow this up.
The three accused will be arraigned July 10.
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