Chicago Police Delete Surveillance Video, Accused of Cover Up
CHICAGO — 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was shot sixteen times and killed on October 20 last year by Chicago police. Now some are accusing the police department of tampering with evidence, alleging a cover up.
McDonald was shot near a Burger King after police responded to a call about a suspicious man with a knife. According to a report by medical examiners, nine of the sixteen shots that struck McDonald hit him in the back.
Police claim they feared for their lives because McDonald lunged at them with a knife, but 86 minutes of missing video captured by a patrol car that should corroborate their claims have not been released.
Jay Darshane, a Burger King District Manager, said a several police officers entered his restaurant and demanded the passwords to the security system and access to the security footage. Police left three hours later, and now Darshane says crucial parts of the video are missing.
“We had no idea they were going to sit there and delete files. I mean, we were just trying to help the police officers,” Darshane said.
The next day, the Independent Police Review Authority, an organization that investigates internal affairs for the Chicago police, discovered that a chunk of footage was missing. According to attorneys hired by McDonald’s family, 86 minutes from 11 separate cameras have disappeared.
An NBC video of the report is available below:
