3 Chicago cops acquitted of covering up Laquan McDonald's killing in unprecedented code-of-silence trial
CHICAGO - In a stunning decision, a Cook County judge on Thursday acquitted three Chicago police officers of all charges alleging they lied in police reports and conspired to cover up the controversial 2014 police shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.
The case has been seen as a referendum on a so-called code of silence within the Chicago Police Department designed to protect fellow officers from accountability for wrongdoing.
In her hourlong ruling, Associate Judge Domenica Stephenson blasted the evidence presented by prosecutors as weak, speculative and totally lacking proof of any crime.
Stephenson ripped several key prosecution witnesses - including Officer Dora Fontaine and witness Jose Torres - as unreliable and inconsistent in their testimony.
She said the now-infamous police dashboard camera video showed a completely different perspective than the officers at the scene and that comparing what could be seen on the video with statements and conclusions made in police reports would "disregard the totality of the evidence"
