At close of prosecution case, judge declines to throw out charges in alleged police cover-up of Laquan McDonald's shooting
CHICAGO - Accusations that Chicago police officers conspired to cover up the 2014 shooting of Laquan McDonald were ridiculed Tuesday by defense attorneys who lobbied unsuccessfully for a Cook County judge to throw out the charges before they put on any evidence.
The impassioned arguments for a rare directed finding injected a fervent pitch into what for the most part has been a dry trial centered on police reports and other documents produced in the investigation of McDonald's controversial killing.
In the end, though, after nearly three hours, Associate Judge Domenica Stephenson denied the effort in a perfunctory ruling from the bench. The landmark trial is set to resume Thursday when the defense will begin to present its own evidence.
While the arguments for a directed finding failed, they offered a preview of what promises to be a heated conclusion to a case that has been cast as a referendum on the so-called code
