CHICAGO (AP) – A Chicago police officer and two former officers pleaded not guilty Monday to conspiring to cover up what happened the night a white officer killed a black teenager by shooting him 16 times.
Joseph Walsh, David March and Thomas Gaffney are accused of quickly coordinating their stories to protect themselves and other officers following the 2014 death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. The men said little during the brief hearing, which marked their first court appearance since being indicted last month.
The indictment alleges the officers lied when they reported the teen aggressively swung a knife and tried to get up, while still armed, after he was shot by Officer Jason Van Dyke. But police dashcam video shows the teen was walking away from officers with a small knife by his side when he was shot.
The video – which wasn’t publicly released until a year after the shooting – also shows that Laquan was spun to the ground as Van Dyke repeatedly fired. Van Dyke has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, and the city agreed to pay Laquan’s family $5 million.
Walsh and March, who as a detective concluded the shooting was justified, have left the Chicago Police Department. Gaffney is still on the force but, per department policy, was suspended because of the felony indictment.