Cover-up trial begins for three Chicago policemen

CHICAGO — The trial of three Chicago police officers charged with lying to protect a fellow officer from criminal prosecution after he fatally shot black teenager Laquan Mcdonald began with prosecutors pointing to reports they contend were falsified and defense attorneys putting much of the blame on the teen himself.

Ex-officer Joseph Walsh, former Detective David March and Officer Thomas Gaffney “violated the public trust” when they “began to fashion a story (and) create lies that were designed to help (Jason) Van Dyke avoid the consequences of his actions,” Special Prosecutor Patricia Brown Holmes said during opening statements Tuesday.

The case marks what’s believed to be the first time in Chicago history that members of the police force have faced criminal charges for trying to cover up the actions of a fellow officer in an on-duty shooting.

Defense attorneys, however, dismissed any suggestion that their clients created a cover story to help Van Dyke. The defense also took a tack that proved unsuccessful for Van Dyke’s attorneys in the trial that ended with a conviction on second-degree murder and aggravated battery charges. They pinned the blame for Mcdonald’s death on the shoulders of the teen who was shot 16 times.

“This is a case about law and order,” March’s attorney, James Mckay, told the judge. “It’s about Laquan Mcdonald not following any laws that night.”

Mckay also called Mcdonald a “crazed individual” with the drug PCP in his system.

The three men are on trial for felony charges of obstruction of justice, official misconduct and conspiracy. March and Walsh are no longer with the department, while Gaffney has been suspended.