Laquan McDonald https://truthvoice.com Wed, 22 May 2019 09:34:51 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.0.2 https://i0.wp.com/truthvoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cropped-truthvoice-logo21-1.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Laquan McDonald https://truthvoice.com 32 32 194740597 Burger King Manager: Chicago Cops Erased Surveillance Video to Hide Shooting Evidence https://truthvoice.com/2015/11/burger-king-manager-chicago-cops-erased-surveillance-video-to-hide-shooting-evidence/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=burger-king-manager-chicago-cops-erased-surveillance-video-to-hide-shooting-evidence Wed, 25 Nov 2015 09:34:39 +0000 http://truthvoice.com/2015/11/burger-king-manager-chicago-cops-erased-surveillance-video-to-hide-shooting-evidence/

1098245_630x354

There was surveillance footage of the fatal encounter between Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke and a teenage suspect in the parking lot of a Burger King—until the cops came and a substantial portion of the video mysteriously vanished, a restaurant manager says.

On Tuesday, Van Dyke was indicted on first-degree murder charges in connection with the sixteen shots he fired into 17-year-old Laquan McDonald while responding to an Oct. 20, 2014 report of an armed man in the Burger King parking lot.

The fatal incident was caught on Van Dyke’s dashcam, which became the subject of a protracted legal battle between the media and the police, who argued its release would “hamper ongoing investigations.” Last week a judge finally ordered the video—described by one witness as “an execution”—be released by Nov. 25.

But there may have been other footage the public will never see: According to a Burger King district manager, almost an hour-and-a-half of pertinent surveillance recording disappeared the night of the shooting.

According to NBC, the restaurant—located at 4060 S Pulaski Rd—boasts a series of outdoor security cameras that ostensibly captured the lead up to the shooting (which may have actually concluded outside the range of the cameras.)

But an inexplicable gap emerged after cops examined the footage. Via NBC:

After the shooting, according to Jay Darshane, the District Manager for Burger King, four to five police officers wearing blue and white shirts entered the restaurant and asked to view the video and were given the password to the equipment. Three hours later they left, he said.

The next day, when an investigator from the Independent Police Review Authority asked to view the security footage, it was discovered that the 86 minutes of video was missing.

Darshane tells NBC the cameras and video recorder were “on and working properly” the night of the shooting.

“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.”

A spokesperson for the Independent Police Review Authority tells NBC in a statement, “We have no credible evidence at this time that would cause us to believe CPD purged or erased any surveillance video.”

The dashcam footage is expected to be released sometime on Wednesday.

]]>
1813
Chicago Preparing For Unrest as Police Shooting Video Being Released Tomorrow https://truthvoice.com/2015/11/chicago-preparing-for-unrest-as-police-shooting-video-being-released-tomorrow/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicago-preparing-for-unrest-as-police-shooting-video-being-released-tomorrow Mon, 23 Nov 2015 09:34:50 +0000 http://truthvoice.com/2015/11/chicago-preparing-for-unrest-as-police-shooting-video-being-released-tomorrow/

Screen Shot 2015-11-23 at 8.01.52 PM

Amid concerns about possible unrest, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel invited ministers and community activists to City Hall on Monday to discuss the upcoming release of a video that shows a white police officer fatally shooting a black teenager last year.

Seventeen-year-old Laquan McDonald was shot 16 times. Police have said he refused to drop a knife.

There is growing concern in the community about what could happen when people see the incident for themselves. A judge last week ordered the police department to release the police car dashcam footage by Wednesday.

Two ministers invited to meet with Emanuel said they think the mayor will solicit their help in preventing the kind of unrest seen in Baltimore and Ferguson, Missouri, after the killings of young black men by police in those cities.

Emanuel’s office characterized the meeting as something “we regularly do on important topics.” But Hatch and the Rev. Ira Acree said it is a rare occurrence and shows the mayor is concerned there might be violence.

“We have been trying to meet with the mayor since the beginning of the year to talk about community relations and his staff asks for a letter and says ‘We’ll get back to you,’ but they never do,” Acree said.

Hatch said: “This has the feeling of them scrambling.”

The shooting occurred on Oct. 20, 2014, as police responded to a 911 call of a man carrying a knife. Lawyers for McDonald’s family who have seen the video say it shows the teen with a small knife and walking away from officers. They say Officer Jason Van Dyke opens fire from about 15 feet and keeps shooting after the teen falls.

Emanuel’s meeting with ministers and activists comes as residents brace both for the video’s release and for word on whether Van Dyke will face criminal charges. On Monday, State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez said that a decision will be made Tuesday on whether charges will be filed against the officer. According to reports, sources say Van Dyke will be indicted.

Acree and Hatch said blacks in the city are upset about the shooting and because city officials and the Police Department refused for several months to release the video until ordered to do so by a judge. They said people also are angry because the officer, though stripped of his police powers, has been assigned to desk duty and not fired.

“They had the opportunity to be a good example and a model across the country on how to improve police and community relations and they missed it,” Acree said.

The Police Department has said it refused to release the video out of concern that doing so would hamper the federal and state investigations. The department said placing an officer on desk duty after a shooting is standard procedure and that it is prohibited from doing anything more during the investigations.

The Mayor is expected to also put together a public service announcement that may go on the radio or television and appeal for calm, sources tell FOX 32.

The City of Chicago also settled out of court with McDonald’s family even before the family filed a lawsuit.

The FBI and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office are investigating the fatal shooting.

]]>
1818