Man convicted in the brutal death of Morgan Freeman's granddaughter sentenced to 20 years
Cydney Henderson, USA TODAY Published 8:33 p.m. ET Jan. 17, 2019
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2019/01/17/man-convicted-death-morgan-freemans-granddaughter-sentenced/2609356002/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatoday-newstopstories
Judge acquits 3 Chicago officers of Laquan McDonald shooting cover-up
Another officer, Jason Van Dyke, convicted of 2nd-degree murder last October
The Associated Press · Posted: Jan 17, 2019 8:38 PM ET | Last Updated: 34 minutes ago
Demonstrators celebrated the conviction of Jason Van Dyke in the death of Laquan McDonald, but a judge's acquittal of three Chicago officers of trying to cover up the 2014 shooting could reignite protests. (Joshua Lott/Getty Images)
A judge on Thursday acquitted three Chicago officers of trying to cover up the 2014 shooting of Laquan McDonald, dismissing as just one perspective the shocking dashcam video of the black teenager's death that led to protests, a federal investigation of the police department and the rare murder conviction of an officer.
In casting off the prosecution's entire case, Judge Domenica Stephenson seemed to accept many of the same defence arguments that were rejected in October by jurors who convicted officer Jason Van Dyke of second-degree murder and aggravated battery. He is scheduled to be sentenced Friday.
The judge said the video showed only one viewpoint of the confrontation and that there was no indication the officers tried to hide evidence.
"The evidence shows just the opposite," she said. She singled out how they preserved the graphic video at the heart of the case.
McDonald's family questioned how the two cases could produce such different decisions. His great-uncle, Rev. Marvin Hunter, told reporters that the verdict means "that if you are a police officer you can lie, cheat and steal."
"To say that these men are not guilty is to say that Jason Van Dyke is not guilty."
He added: "It is a sad day for America."
Watch an edited version of graphic dashcam video:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/chicago-police-officers-acquitted-mcdonald-cover-up-1.4983080?cmp=rss