A trio of current and former Chicago police officers have been acquitted of charges that they conspired to hide details of the Laquan McDonald shooting in an unprecedented trial that put a spotlight on the police department’s so-called code of silence.
A Cook County judge on Thursday found Chicago Officer Thomas Gaffney, former officer Joseph Walsh and ex-Detective David March not guilty of conspiracy, official misconduct and obstruction of justice. They were accused of falsifying official reports from the scene of the 2014 shooting in order to “conceal the true facts” of McDonald’s death in an attempt to shield fellow Officer Jason Van Dyke from prosecution.
Below, watch the proceedings from the courtroom.
Van Dyke was found guilty of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery last fall. He is scheduled to be sentenced Friday.