Chicago police officers deleted security footage that may have captured the events leading up to the shooting death of a teenage boy in October 2014.
Police shot 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times. Police officers then went to a nearby Burger King and requested password to security equipment, according to NBC Chicago. They then deleted 86 minutes of video.
The Independent Police Review Authority is denying officers tampered with security footage. A spokesman for the IPRA said: “We have no credible evidence at this time that would cause us to believe CPD purged or erased any surveillance video.”
Jay Darshane, the District Manager for Burger King, told NBC Chicago all security footage was working at the time of 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.”
Police alleged McDonald lunged toward them with a knife. Dash cam footage, however, showed he walking away before being shot.
An autopsy found McDonald had bullet wounds in his chest, neck, back, arms and right leg.
The FBI launched a federal investigation into McDonald’s shooting.
The City Council’s Committee on Finance approved a $5 million settlement to the family of McDonald Monday, according to CBS 2 Chicago. The family initially sought $16 million.
U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon said the FBI’s Chicago office would lead a joint investigation into the shooting, according to the Raw Story. He said that the Independent Police Review Authority, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office would also participate.
The officer who shot McDonald has been stripped of his police power and put on paid desk duty pending the outcome of the investigation.
A witness rebuked the actions of the CPD in McDonald’s killing
“They didn’t need to shoot him. They didn’t. They basically had him face-to-face. There was no purpose why they had to shoot him,” witness Alma Benitez told CBS Chicago.
Police allege the youth punctured one of the squad car’s front passenger-side tire and damaged the front windshield.
“When police tell you to drop a weapon, all you have to do is drop it,” Pat Camden a spokesman for the Fraternal Order of Police told the Tribune.
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