A Chicago police officer, who allegedly attempted to cover up his involvement in the hit-and-run death of a 15-year-old last month, was charged Thursday with reckless homicide and leaving the scene of a fatal accident.
Charlton McKay’s alleged attempt to cover his tracks in the Sept. 22 incident that killed Edward Lucas was uncovered by forensic science and traditional investigative techniques, Cook County prosecutors said Thursday. McKay is said to have abandoned his Cadillac blocks from the scene and then reporting the vehicle as stolen.
“We’re extremely, extremely upset that an officer, or anyone, would do something like this, but particularly an officer,” Deputy Supt. Hiram Grau said. “The public places their trust in police officers, and we expect nothing but professional conduct from our officers.”
McKay, 32, a police officer for nine years, worked in the Calumet District in a detail handling gangs and narcotics. He appeared at the Criminal Courts Building on Thursday after turning himself in. He was released on $300,000 bail and faces up to 7 years in prison if convicted. He was also charged with disorderly conduct for filing a false police report.
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Lucas had been playing basketball at a friend’s house and was walking toward his home in the 10000 block of South Esmond Avenue when he crossed Vincennes Avenue at 109th Street. As he stepped from the curb at about 8:30 p.m., he was run down by a car that did not stop, investigators said
Lucas, whom his family jokingly called “Rock” because his head seemed too big for his body, was captain of the sophomore basketball team at Morgan Park High School.
In the weeks since his death, his family and friends have held protests outside Calumet Area police headquarters, calling for charges in his death.
On Thursday night, many family members gathered at a relative’s home on the South Side, where his mother, Judy Gultney, was being comforted by many of her six brothers and sisters. They remembered the youth’s love of sports and his insatiable sweet tooth.
Gultney sat holding her daughter Tamiko, who turned 8 the day before her brother died. They were watching an evening news report about the man charged in her son’s death.
“Cut his life off short,” she said bitterly, slamming her hand on a table as television images of McKay appeared on the evening news. She was relieved by McKay’s arrest but still very angry, she said.
“He ran over my son like he was a dog in the street,” Gultney said.
Assistant State’s Atty. Thomas Simpson said two witnesses told police a dark-color newer Cadillac went through a stop sign and into the intersection in excess of 50 m.p.h. Lucas was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center, Oak Lawn, where he died of his injuries.
The first lead in the case came the next morning on Sept. 23, authorities said, when a black Cadillac was found at 107th and Peoria Street, about a mile from where Lucas was struck. Its windshield, right bumper and right fender were damaged.
The car was traced to McKay, who reported the car stolen that morning, telling fellow officers the car was missing from the house where he lived with a girlfriend.
But investigators found no sign that the car had been broken into. The steering column had not been stripped and the ignition was intact, authorities said.
Suspicion fell on McKay, who was stripped of his police powers the next week. Though he was not charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, police said they learned he had been at a bar the night of Lucas’ death.
Investigators matched paint left at the scene with the paint on the Cadillac. Metal parts of the car had rubbed on the victim’s clothing and concrete areas at the scene, police said.
A computer chip in the car showed that the car was traveling at 56 m.p.h. at the time of the collision, which corroborated witnesses’ accounts.
But it was a statement from his girlfriend that definitively placed McKay behind the wheel, authorities said. The woman told investigators that after McKay arrived home the night of Lucas’ death, he told her he had “had an accident,” Simpson said.
A lawyer for McKay said his client maintains his innocence.
“We will defend the case,” defense attorney Anthony Schumann said outside of court. “He will plead not guilty.”
Some who arrived at the Criminal Courts Building to support McKay said the alleged conduct is very much out of character for him.
“He’s just a great guy–a smooth guy,” said Police Officer Aaron Holton. “He’s just good people.”
Some family members said they hadn’t been sure what to expect from the investigation in which Chicago police were looking into the alleged acts of a police officer.
But police leaders on Thursday said the work of detectives shows that the department will not protect those accused of crimes, even when one of their own.
“This is a particular incident we are not going to condone, it’s an unfortunate incident,” he said. “We express our sincere sympathies and our condolences to the family. This officer is going to be held accountable.”
Clint Towers, Lucas’ uncle, stood outside police headquarters as the charges were announced.
“We knew he was a police officer, you know, the situation with that,” said Towers. “But we are satisfied”
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