3 Chicago cops accused of manufacturing evidence to frame former gang member

CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) - Police in the Laquan McDonald case have been criticized for possibly falsifying police reports from the night of the shooting.

Well on Tuesday, in another case involving Chicago police, three officers are accused of manufacturing evidence.

“What we expect the evidence will show is that the detectives and the sergeant fabricated identifications, witness statements, and statements from the victim, the man who was shot, in order to frame our client,” said plaintiff’s attorney Jeff Neslund.

Paul Myvett was arrested six years ago for shooting a man during an altercation inside a Northside restaurant. He was a former gang member with a long history of arrests.

Myvett was charged with attempted murder and spent 13 months at the county jail awaiting trial. Then, he won his case without even having to put on a defense.

In pretrial motions, his attorneys floated a possible theory as to why officers might manufacture a case.

FOX 32: What would be their motives?

“Yah know I can't crawl into the heads of the officers and speculate about their motives, but they certainly get overtime pay all the time coming to court,” Neslund said.

One of the defendants, Detective Edward Heerdt, was listed by the Sun-Times two years ago as having the fifth highest overtime pay among all city employees. He reportedly earned over a $100,000 in 2014.

The detective's attorneys say Chicago has "a relatively high violent crime rate" and "the fact that he earns considerable overtime through working long hours or attending court is not surprising or improper.."

As to manufacturing a case against Myvett, defense attorney Scott Cohen said Tuesday, "The real fabrications are the plaintiff's claims against the officers."

Security cameras on the night of the shooting captured much of what occurred. Both sides played the video in opening statements Tuesday, and both claim it supports their version of events.