The Laquan McDonald Investigation

Months before the wider world learned the name of Laquan Mcdonald, reporter Carol Marin and her team at WMAQ-TV in Chicago were looking into the death of the African-American 17-year-old who had been killed by Chicago police. Their investigation, which began after the city paid Mcdonald’s family a $5 million settlement, uncovered allegations that police didn’t interview witnesses properly, that police investigators may have erased crucial evidence from a camera system at a nearby fast-food restaurant, and that police reports may have been contradicted by video of the event from squad cars. By the time a judge ordered release of the squad car “dashcam” video and Mcdonald’s death became a global story, WMAQ had already done its journalistic job, alerting viewers to inconsistencies and disturbing questions about the case, making sure Mcdonald’s death by 16 gun-shots was fully examined. For spotting disparities in a high-profile police shooting and aggressively pursuing answers to troubling questions, The Laquan McDonald Investigation receives a Peabody Award.