The three current and former Chicago police officers who are facing multiple charges, including conspiracy, in an alleged cover-up related to the shooting death of Laquan McDonald have pleaded not guilty.
Last month, Detective David March and Officers Joseph Walsh and Thomas Gaffney were charged with conspiracy, official misconduct and obstruction of justice in the case involving the fatal shooting of the 17-year-old.
On Monday, Reuters reports, the three entered their pleas at the arraignment before a packed courtroom. Their next hearing is scheduled for Aug. 29.
The conspiracy charges relate to the 2014 shooting in which Laquan was shot 16 times by Officer Jason Van Dyke, who is awaiting trial on first-degree murder charges. Video footage from the shooting was directly at odds with what several officers detailed in their accounts of what happened that night, enraging the community and activists, who have called for serious reforms in the Chicago Police Department and even called for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to resign.
March, Walsh and Gaffney were all on the scene at the night of the shooting and are accused of conspiring to cover up the true details of Laquan’s shooting in order to protect Van Dyke from criminal investigations and prosecution, prosecutors claim.
Read more at Reuters.
