CHICAGO — Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson formally moved to fire five police officers involved in the Laquan McDonald shooting and aftermath, including Jason Van Dyke, who fired the fatal 16 shots.
Van Dyke will face firing along with officers Daphne Sebastian, Ricardo Viramontes, Janet Mondragon and Sgt. Stephen Franko.
All five officers are accused of lying in the case and behaving in such a way that "impedes the Department's efforts to achieve its policy and goals or brings discredit upon the Department."
All five were also charged with "failure to promote the Department's efforts to implement its policy or accomplish its goals."
RELATED: Read The Charges Against Five Officers Involved in Laquan McDonald Shooting
Van Dyke's alleged lies included claims that "McDonald was waving a knife," that "Officer Van Dyke backpedaled as McDonald was coming closer," and that "McDonald's actions constituted assault."
The charges also allege that Van Dyke failed to inspect the video system and audio recorder in his squad car. All of the officers named but Viramontes face similar allegations.
Joe Ferguson, the city's inspector general, sent a report earlier this month to Johnson recommending the firing of 10 police officers involved with the case.
After receiving that report, Johnson said he would recommend firing seven officers involved in the October 2014 shooting. As of Tuesday, he only submitted five firing requests to the police board, and he determined that one officer, Dora Fontaine, on scene should not be fired.
"There is sufficient doubt that Officer Fontaine made certain statements that have been attributed to her in official CPD reports and an analysis has shown that there is insufficient evidence to prove that she willfully made any false statement," police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement.
Deputy Chief David McNaughton and Lt. Anthony Wojcik, two officers involved with the case, already retired.
Guglielmi has said a third officer had retired prior to Tuesday and another resigned on Tuesday. Van Dyke's partner Joseph Walsh is one of those two, but it is unclear when he exactly left the department.
The firing request will be handled by the Chicago Police Board, which is separate from the department.
The initial status hearing of the case is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Sept. 19 at 30 N. LaSalle St., Suite 1220. The final vote will take place at a future public board meeting.
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