Sheriff's Officer Tried To Comfort Laquan McDonald As Teen Lay Dying: Officials
(CBS) – Top officials in the Cook County Sheriff's office say they learned just this week that two of their officers were on the scene last year when a Chicago Police officer shot and killed 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.
Sheriff Tom Dart's Chief of Policy, Cara Smith, says Officer Adam Murphy arrived 20 to 30 seconds after Laquan McDonald had been shot, in October 2014, and another sheriff's officer arrived seconds after that.
"The Chicago police (were) clear that they had the situation under control. Our officer, Adam Murphy, did kneel down next to Laquan and urged him to hang in there, that there was an ambulance coming, and believed he died with our officer by his side," Smith tells WBBM's Steve Miller.
"And then our officers cleared the scene and resumed their normal patrol."
Smith says neither officer made a report but says it was not required. The officers did notify dispatch, she says.
Sheriff's Police Came Upon McDonald Shooting
Smith says neither she nor Sheriff Dart was aware deputies had been at the scene until Wednesday evening, when the Chicago Tribune asked.
The FBI contacted the sheriff's officers this past summer. Smith says the officers are cooperating with the investigation.
McDonald is the African American teen whose videotaped death at the hands of a white Chicago police officer has sparked outrage. Dash-cam video released last month has resulted in murder charges against the officer, who fired 16 rounds into the teen.
The video does not support Chicago officers' claims that McDonald, who was carrying a knife, acted aggressively before he was fatally shot.
Dart issued a statement Thursday that, similar to Smith's remarks, tried to sort out the sheriff's department's limited involvement in the case.
The complete statement:
On the evening of October 20th, 2014, two Cook County Sheriff's Police Officers on routine patrol arrived on the scene shortly after the shooting of Laquan McDonald. The officers, Adam Murphy and Jeff Pasqua, offered to assist the Chicago Police Department with traffic control or in securing the scene and were told their assistance was not needed. While at the scene, Officer Murphy was advised an ambulance was en route to provide medical assistance to Mr. McDonald. Officer Murphy subsequently went to the side of Mr. McDonald and offered him words of comfort while waiting for the ambulance to arrive. Approximately 10 minutes after arriving on the scene, Officer Murphy and Officer Pasqua notified dispatch and resumed their patrols in suburban Cook County. In July, 2015, Officers Murphy and Pasqua were contacted by the FBI and have cooperated fully with that agency.
