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Read the press release here.

4 Officers Suspended For Failing To Get Audio Of Laquan McDonald Shooting

By Heather Cherone | January 19, 2017 1:07pm | Updated on January 20, 2017 11:10am
 A still from the dashcam video of Laquan McDonald being shot by a police officer.
A still from the dashcam video of Laquan McDonald being shot by a police officer.
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DNAinfo

CITY HALL — Four Chicago police officers face suspensions of one week each for failing to capture the audio recording of a police officer fatally shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times, officials said.

The discipline facing the officers first was revealed by Inspector General Joseph Ferguson's quarterly report released Wednesday and confirmed to DNAinfo by City Hall sources. None of the officers was identified in the report.

On Nov. 24, 2015, — under a court order — Mayor Rahm Emanuel released the video of Officer Jason Van Dyke, 37, getting out of his squad and shooting McDonald multiple times. Authorities said he hit him 16 times, emptying his cartridge into the teen, including many shots while McDonald was on the ground.

While cameras mounted on dashboards of five police cruisers captured the shooting on video, none captured audio of the shootings as required by Chicago Police Department rules.

Van Dyke is awaiting trial on first-degree murder charges in connection with McDonald's death, and department officials have moved to fire four other officers accused of lying about McDonald's death and its aftermath.

The graphic video set off a wave of protests that eventually toppled former Police Supt. Garry McCarthy and sparked an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice that found the Police Department routinely violated the civil rights of Chicagoans by using excessive force.

Ferguson recommended that 11 officers be fired for their role in McDonald's death. However, current Police Supt. Eddie Johnson rejected that advice in the case of one officer and allowed five others to resign or retire before they could be disciplined, according to the report.

The firings of the five other officers are pending before the Chicago Police Board.

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