--- description: Chicago's Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson plans to fire seven officers for lying about the Laquan McDonald shooting. title: Chicago Police to Fire 7 Officers Over Laquan McDonald Shooting image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt594d4829258443ce/6988a2d2f887dc2a3ee971df/chicago-police-fire-7-officers-laquan-mcdonald-shooting.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [police](/tag/police/) ## police Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Chicago Police Department Moves to Fire 7 Officers Involved in Laquan McDonald Shooting  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 18, 2016 3:35 PM CUT  Eddie Johnson speaks to the press after being sworn in as Chicago Police Superintendent on April 13, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. Eddie Johnson speaks to the press after being sworn in as Chicago Police Superintendent on April 13, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois.Scott Olson—Getty Images  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 18, 2016 3:35 PM CUT Chicago’s Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson [plans to fire](http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/johnson-moves-to-fire-eight-officers-involved-in-mcdonald-case/ "undefined") seven officers for lying about what took place when Officer Jason Van Dyke fatally [shot Laquan McDonald](http://time.com/4142906/chicago-mayor-apologizes-laquan-mcdonald/ "undefined") in Oct. 2014. Johnson made the decision because the officers’ accounts differed vastly from video taken the night of the incident, the Chicago _Sun-Times_ reports. The police department received criticism for [taking over a year](http://time.com/4171604/laquan-mcdonald-emails-chicago-rahm-emanuel/ "undefined") to [release the video](http://time.com/4126670/chicago-releases-video-of-laquan-mcdonald-shooting/ "undefined") of Van Dyke shooting 17-year-old McDonald 16 times. “The Department and its outside counsel have carefully reviewed the reports and supporting documents, videos, and other evidence and will accept the \[Inspector General’s\] recommendation to submit seven of the officers to the Police Board for separation based upon Rule 14 allegations outlined in the OIG’s report,” the department [said in a statement](http://wgntv.com/2016/08/18/chicago-police-supt-johnson-to-fire-7-officers-for-lying-about-mcdonald-shooting-report/ "undefined"). “The officers have been relieved of their police powers prior to the determination of the Police Board.” Johnson chose not to fire an additional officer whom the Inspector General had recommended be let go. The Inspector General’s investigation into the shooting will continue. “While I know that this type of action can come with many questions and varying opinions, please know that these decisions were not made lightly,” Johnson wrote in a Thursday message to officers, the _Sun-Times_ reports. \[[_Chicago Sun-Times_](http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/johnson-moves-to-fire-eight-officers-involved-in-mcdonald-case/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4457452/chicago-police-fire-eight-officers-laquan-mcdonald/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4457452/chicago-police-fire-eight-officers-laquan-mcdonald/"},"headline":"Chicago Police Department Moves to Fire 7 Officers Involved in Laquan McDonald Shooting","datePublished":"2016-08-18T15:35:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:04:18.623Z","description":"The department will fire the officers for lying about the Laquan McDonald shooting","url":"https://time.com/4457452/chicago-police-fire-eight-officers-laquan-mcdonald/","keywords":["police","Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt594d4829258443ce/6988a2d2f887dc2a3ee971df/chicago-police-fire-7-officers-laquan-mcdonald-shooting.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt594d4829258443ce/6988a2d2f887dc2a3ee971df/chicago-police-fire-7-officers-laquan-mcdonald-shooting.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"chicago police fire 7 officers laquan mcdonald shooting","caption":"chicago police fire 7 officers laquan mcdonald shooting","creditText":"Scott Olson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/police/","name":"police"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4457452/chicago-police-fire-eight-officers-laquan-mcdonald/","name":"Chicago Police Department Moves to Fire 7 Officers Involved in Laquan McDonald Shooting"}}]}] ```