4 Chicago police officers fighting McDonald-related firings

CHICAGO – A hearing is set for four Chicago police officers who are fighting their dismissals following accusations they covered up a white officer’s 2014 fatal shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald.

A Chicago Police Board hearing officer has set aside three days for testimony starting Wednesday. The hearing officer will then confer with the police board, which will decide the four officers’ fate. The Chicago Tribune reports that could take months.

Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson fired the three patrol officers and sergeant after a disciplinary investigation into Jason Van Dyke’s fatal shooting of McDonald. They’re accused of falsifying or approving police reports that exaggerated the threat McDonald posed.

A Cook County judge acquitted three other officers in January of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and official misconduct charges in the case.

Jurors convicted Van Dyke of murder in October. He’s serving a more than six-year prison term.

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Check out the AP’s complete coverage of the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald.