Witness to Laquan McDonald Shooting Claims Cops Pressured Her to Retract Story: Lawsuit

CHICAGO, IL -- A witness to the 2014 shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald has filed a federal lawsuit over claims she was pressured by Chicago police to change her story, NBC 5 Chicago reports..

Alma Benitez said she was going through the drive-thru at the Burger King in the 4000 block of South Pulaski Road when she saw a Chicago police car chasing an African-American man.

“He was running really slow, and he was trying to pull his pants up. He was holding his pants, but as he was running, he was trying to pull his pants up,” Benitez recounted for a freelance photojournalist. “After that, I just saw him when, he just stood there. The next thing you know they shot at him.”

Benitez also told the freelance photographer she heard several gunshots and then saw the youth on the ground. She alleges she didn’t hear police officers say anything to McDonald before they shot him, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Chicago police officers who responded to a report of a man trying to break into vehicles in a nearby truck yard using a knife, confronted McDonald. Officers claim they gave McDonald multiple commands to drop a small, folding knife he held in his hand.

Stating that the youth “lunged” at officers with the knife, Officer Jason Van Dyke allegedly shot McDonald 16 times with his service revolver because he felt “threatened.”. Other officers at the scene, backed up Van Dyke’s version of events, stating the officer shot McDonald in self-defense.

A police dashcam video contrasted sharply with Van Dyke’s version of events, showing the teen walking away when Van Dyke allegedly shot him. Van Dyke has since been charged with first-degree murder. The dashcam video sparked nationwide protests over police brutality against persons of color, the firing of a Chicago police superintendent and a federal investigation of the Chicago Police Department..

Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson has recommended that Van Dyke and eight other officers be fired for making false and misleading statements. The matter is pending before the Chicago Police Board.

In her lawsuit against the City of Chicago, Benitez claims she was illegally detained at a South Side police station for six hours after officers witnessed her taking photos and video with her cellphone.

She and a handful of other witnesses told TV news stations that McDonald was clearly not a threat and the officer was not justified in opening fire. After police saw her taking photos and video, the lawsuit alleges she was taken to a South Side police station at 51st and Wentworth, “Chicago police officers pressured (Benitez) to retract and/or forget what she witnessed.”

The federal lawsuit also notes that the video of the shooting of McDonald was covered up by a police code of silence, the Chicago Tribune reported. Benitez is suing the city for unspecified damages.