Unable to explain why the 86 minutes went missing, the police superintendent blamed the missing files on technical difficulties.
By Andrew Emett / The Free Thought Project
December 1, 2015
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Police dashcam video shows the killing of Laquan McDonald.
Photo Credit: c/o The Guardian
Chicago, IL — Accused of deleting the surveillance video of Laquan McDonald’s death, several officers appeared in recently released screenshots tampering with Burger King’s computers before the footage mysteriously disappeared. Although 86 minutes of the surveillance video have gone missing, including the moment McDonald was gunned down, Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez claims no one tampered with the footage.
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Surrounded by officers and suspected of breaking into cars on Oct. 20, 2014, Laquan McDonald, 17, was attempting to walk away from a group of Chicago cops when Officer Jason Van Dyke exited his patrol car. According to initial reports, McDonald was armed with a knife and lunged at Officer Van Dyke. Fearing for his life and the lives of his fellow officers, Van Dyke shot the teen in the chest in self-defense.
But according to witness statements and police dashcam video, McDonald was walking away when Van Dyke opened fire. After McDonald collapsed on the ground, Van Dyke continued firing his weapon until emptying his clip. As Van Dyke began reloading his gun, a fellow officer had to order him to cease firing.
An autopsy revealed that Van Dyke shot McDonald 16 times, including two bullets in the back, seven in his arms, two in his right leg, once on each side of his chest, and single bullets wounds to his right hand, scalp and neck. Nine of the 16 entrance wounds had a downward trajectory. None of the five other officers at the scene fired their weapons.
Before McDonald’s family could file a lawsuit, the city gave them a $5 million settlement on the condition that the family agreed not to publicly release the dashcam footage of the teen’s death. After suppressing the video for 13 months, the city received a court order to release the footage. The city released the video last week, which clearly shows McDonald did not lunge at the officers before the fatal shooting.
In May, Burger King district manager Jay Darshane accused officers of deleting the security footage after spending over three hours in the fast food restaurant on the night of the shooting. According to Darshane, the video equipment was working properly, but 86 minutes of footage, from 9:13pm to 10:39pm, disappeared after the officers left.
Charged with first-degree murder, Van Dyke fired his first shot at 9:57pm. When asked if he was certain that the officers deleted the footage of the killing, Darshane answered, “Yes.”
“We had no idea they were going to sit there and delete files,” Darshane said. “I mean we were just trying to help the police officers.”
Unable to clearly explain why the 86 minutes disappeared, Police Supt. Garry McCarthy blamed the missing files on technical difficulties. At a press conference last week, Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez asserted that no one had tampered with the Burger King surveillance video. When asked who conducted the forensic testing, Alvarez did not appear to know the answer.
Alvarez responded, “That’s all I’m going to say on this.”
On Monday, NBC5 obtained screenshots taken from a surveillance video inside Burger King on the night of McDonald’s death. The photos appear to show officers using the computer console that recorded the fatal shooting.
By Andrew Emett / The Free Thought Project
December 1, 2015
131 COMMENTS
Police dashcam video shows the killing of Laquan McDonald.
Photo Credit: c/o The Guardian
Chicago, IL — Accused of deleting the surveillance video of Laquan McDonald’s death, several officers appeared in recently released screenshots tampering with Burger King’s computers before the footage mysteriously disappeared. Although 86 minutes of the surveillance video have gone missing, including the moment McDonald was gunned down, Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez claims no one tampered with the footage.
Shop ▾
Surrounded by officers and suspected of breaking into cars on Oct. 20, 2014, Laquan McDonald, 17, was attempting to walk away from a group of Chicago cops when Officer Jason Van Dyke exited his patrol car. According to initial reports, McDonald was armed with a knife and lunged at Officer Van Dyke. Fearing for his life and the lives of his fellow officers, Van Dyke shot the teen in the chest in self-defense.
But according to witness statements and police dashcam video, McDonald was walking away when Van Dyke opened fire. After McDonald collapsed on the ground, Van Dyke continued firing his weapon until emptying his clip. As Van Dyke began reloading his gun, a fellow officer had to order him to cease firing.
An autopsy revealed that Van Dyke shot McDonald 16 times, including two bullets in the back, seven in his arms, two in his right leg, once on each side of his chest, and single bullets wounds to his right hand, scalp and neck. Nine of the 16 entrance wounds had a downward trajectory. None of the five other officers at the scene fired their weapons.
Before McDonald’s family could file a lawsuit, the city gave them a $5 million settlement on the condition that the family agreed not to publicly release the dashcam footage of the teen’s death. After suppressing the video for 13 months, the city received a court order to release the footage. The city released the video last week, which clearly shows McDonald did not lunge at the officers before the fatal shooting.
In May, Burger King district manager Jay Darshane accused officers of deleting the security footage after spending over three hours in the fast food restaurant on the night of the shooting. According to Darshane, the video equipment was working properly, but 86 minutes of footage, from 9:13pm to 10:39pm, disappeared after the officers left.
Charged with first-degree murder, Van Dyke fired his first shot at 9:57pm. When asked if he was certain that the officers deleted the footage of the killing, Darshane answered, “Yes.”
“We had no idea they were going to sit there and delete files,” Darshane said. “I mean we were just trying to help the police officers.”
Unable to clearly explain why the 86 minutes disappeared, Police Supt. Garry McCarthy blamed the missing files on technical difficulties. At a press conference last week, Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez asserted that no one had tampered with the Burger King surveillance video. When asked who conducted the forensic testing, Alvarez did not appear to know the answer.
Alvarez responded, “That’s all I’m going to say on this.”
On Monday, NBC5 obtained screenshots taken from a surveillance video inside Burger King on the night of McDonald’s death. The photos appear to show officers using the computer console that recorded the fatal shooting.
