The chief of Chicago's police department has recommended that five officers be sacked over their role in the 2014 shooting death of a black teenager, an incident that heaped national scrutiny on the nation's second largest police force.
Superintendent Eddie Johnson recommended to the Chicago Police Board that officer Jason Van Dyke, who shot Laquan McDonald 16 times, be dismissed, along with another four officers.
The shooting made headlines across the country and sparked protests after the release of a dashboard video more than a year after the incident. The video shows the officer continued to fire after Mr McDonald, 17, had fallen to the ground.
It also comes amid a string of high-profile killings of black men by police in various US cities in the past two years which have renewed a national debate about racial discrimination in the American criminal justice system and given rise to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Mr Johnson's recommendation marks the start of formal proceedings in the officers' dismissal.
Van Dyke is facing charges of first-degree murder and is on unpaid leave. He has pleaded not guilty.
Sergeant Stephen Franko, and officers Janet Mondragon, Daphne Sebastian and Ricardo Viramontes, are named along with Van Dyke.
According to charges released on Tuesday, all allegedly made false or inaccurate statements about the circumstances surrounding Mr McDonald's death.
Reuters
