An Inspector General report into the shooting death of Laquan McDonald has finally been released. NBC 5’s Natalie Martinez has the shocking details from that report.
Note: NBC 5 Investigates is combing through the report and will outline major findings from the documents in the coming hours. Check back for updates and new details as they are revealed.
The city of Chicago released the long-secret Inspector General’s report on the 2014 shooting of Laquan McDonald on Wednesday, making public for the first time hundreds of pages detailing the investigation into the shooting that rocked the city.
The release of the report was made possible by a City Council ordinance passed last month giving Chicago's corporation counsel the power to release any reports by Inspector General Joseph Ferguson when they involve "sustained findings regarding conduct that either is associated with a death or is, or may be, a felony as defined in the Illinois Criminal Code and is of a compelling public interest."
Previously, such reports were kept confidential by law. The Fraternal Order of Police has vigorously opposed releasing Ferguson’s materials.
In an interview earlier this year with WBEZ radio, Ferguson called on the city to release the records of his investigation, saying that the public still does not know the "full story" about the incident.
Ferguson recommended the firing of 11 individuals. In the end, the Chicago Police Board voted to fire one sergeant and three officers who were present the evening officer Jason Van Dyke shot 17-year-old McDonald. Van Dyke was convicted last year of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm, sentenced in January to 81 months in prison.
Van Dyke's partner Joseph Walsh, as well as officer Thomas Gaffney and Detective March were accused of engaging in a cover-up of the events of that evening, but were found not guilty after a trial last January. Walsh and March resigned, but Gaffney remained on the force.
