Seeing as that’s exactly what the video shows, it would seem Johnson is onto something. “It’s not easy to make a split-second decision that might ultimately cost someone their lives”.
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Many in the nation’s third-largest city are still reeling from the 2014 Laquan McDonald shooting, which left a Chicago officer facing a murder charge after more than a yearlong delay in releasing dashboard camera footage.
Bodycam video released Friday shows a vehicle apparently driven by O’Neal driving at a high rate of speed past police officers on a residential street, prompting at least one officer to get out of his cruiser and fire multiple shots at O’Neal’s auto.
O’Neal’s death has sparked the latest protests from activists who accuse police of using excessive force when dealing with black individuals or suspects.
“Superintendent Johnson has asked that I take a hard look at our training and tactics from this incident”, Kirkpatrick said. “We have created a specialized bureau to focus exclusively on implementing needed reforms, including enhanced supervision in the field”.
The department’s chief of organizational development, Ann Kirkpatrick, has been tasked with looking into whether there was a break-down in training.
At a news conference, Superintendent Eddie Johnson discussed nine videos taken from dashcams in police cars and body cameras on other officers involved. “You can expect that we will be open, we will be honest about what we discover”.
Body-camera video released Friday show a chaotic scene July 28 as officers fired at the 18-year-old African American as he fled in an allegedly stolen vehicle on the city’s South Side. Johnson did not go into specific details, citing the ongoing investigation by IPRA. He disappeared from view behind a house as officers gave chase, and then several more shots rang out.
Autopsy results show the unarmed teen died from a gunshot wound to the back.
Three officers who discharged their guns, including the officer who shot and killed O’Neal, were relieved of their police powers within 48 hours of the shooting pending an investigation by the Independent Police Review Authority, the city agency that probes shootings involving Chicago cops. After O’Neal refused to stop, the officer shot him. Before gunfire breaks out, the suspect sideswipes one squad auto and then smashes into another as officers open fire.
“We just came from watching Chicago police officers execute Paul O’Neal”, Mr Oppenheimer after meeting with the family on Friday. Later, the bodycam video shows at least five officers handcuffing a wounded and bleeding O’Neal, who is face down on the ground.
An officer can be heard explaining that the suspect “almost hit my partner”.
Ja’Mal Green, a spokesman for O’Neal’s family said, “I want to commend Superintendent Johnson for trying to be accountable and transparent, but how can we hold these officers accountable when these body cameras we use aren’t even working?”
The footage also caught the officers talking after the shooting, and their comments capture both the confusion over what happened and their concern over their justification for the shooting.
“Oftentimes when you’re involved in a high-stress situation like that your adrenaline is pumping, and you may say things that you regret later”.
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A day before, Johnson’s news conference was interrupted by protesters.
