A report by Chicago’s inspector general indicates the city’s police review agency has no record of investigating six shootings by officers in recent years.
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The lawsuit, filed Monday, alleges the police officers fired at Paul O’Neal “without lawful justification or excuse”. Although the officer who killed O’Neal wore a bodycam during the shooting, it was revealed yesterday that the camera never recorded the shooting. As he tried to drive away from police, he crashed the auto into two police vehicles, at which point two officers began shooting, according to the initial investigation. None of the officers who opened fire have been identified.
O’Neal then reportedly exited the vehicle and attempted to flee.
A third officer got out of the vehicle and fired what was believed to be the fatal shot, according to WLS. The young man was later pronounced dead of the gunshot wound.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office said he was shot in the back. Police said O’Neal fled the scene of the crash on foot and was shot by a third officer who ran after him.
In the latest iteration of the Police Body Worn Cameras: A Policy Scorecard, researchers from the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and Upturn, a Washington, D.C. -based public policy consultant, looked at where cities need to focus efforts around body-worn cameras.
Civil rights activists praised the Boston police body camera pilot program – set to roll out this month – for excluding facial recognition technology, but said they were concerned about officers being able to review footage prior to providing official statements. However, three officers have been relieved of their duties in connection with the shooting.
“Body cameras carry the promise of officer accountability, but accountability is far from automatic”, said Harlan Yu, principal at Upturn.
“Having been in shootings and auto chases myself, I know how quickly you have to make those decisions”, he said. “So if it’s an honest mistake, then we will get them training, coaching, mentoring and get them back out there”. DNAinfo Chicago reported in January that 80% of police dashboard cameras didn’t properly record audio because officers had either mistakenly operated the cameras or intentionally damaged them. “These police departments are enhancing surveillance of innocent people throughout their cities with no accountability for how the footage is used, when the cameras must be turned on or off, if they are videotaping victims during incredibly personal and sensitive moments, or what if any consequences there would be for officers using their cameras inappropriately”. A policy that began following the highly controversial 2014 police killing of Laquan McDonald – in which CPD withheld for more than 13 months police footage of McDonald’s killing amid 16 shots fired – requires police videos of shootings to be released within 60 days. NO VIDEO OF THE SHOOTINGGreen called on the immediate release of video of the shooting, but said that O’Neal’s family is distraught and not interested in viewing the video. Video from the body camera could have provided critical evidence in the shooting.
This new edition updates the policies of those original police departments that have changed their policies and adds 25 more, including the nation’s largest police departments with body-worn camera programs, programs that have received significant funding from the Department of Justice, and programs in cities that have been under scrutiny due to high profile incidents of police violence.
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“Paul O’Neal’s constitutional rights were violated”, the family’s lawyer Michael Oppenheimer stated.
