He stripped three of the four police officers involved of their police powers, and handed the investigation over to the Independent Police Review Authority, which hopes to complete its investigation within 60 days.
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Since the investigation is still ongoing, Johnson did not shed light on the departmental policies that the three officers may have violated.
CHICAGO-The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled that the death of an 18-year-old suspect who was shot by Chicago police was a homicide.
The release of video showing a police officer fatally shooting Laquan McDonald 16 times prompted protests past year.
Be proactive – Use the “Flag as Inappropriate” link at the upper right corner of each comment to let us know of abusive posts. The move on Friday goes further by stripping two of the officers of their authority; they will not return to duty unless they are cleared of wrongdoing, the Chicago Tribune reported. Another officer also shot at O’Neal as he tried to escape from the stolen auto after it crashed into another police vehicle.
Eventually the crowd reconvened and cheered loudly as one of the organizers announced on a bullhorn-incorrectly-that the officers had been fired for violating police policy.
While O’Neal was unarmed, the officers could still be protected by another Chicago police policy that says cops “will not unreasonably endanger themselves or another person to conform to the restrictions of this directive”, meaning they may have had the right to defend themselves from the recklessly driving teen.
“If he was in a stolen vehicle and he committed a crime, that is for the court system to decide what his sentence should be, not the police officers executing this boy”.
Two other officers were relieved of their powers on Friday. However, Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson confirmed that the fatal encounter was not recorded on that officer’s body camera.
O’Neal was shot about 7:30 p.m. Thursday near 74th Street and Merrill Avenue after he crashed a reportedly stolen Jaguar into two Chicago police vehicles and took off running.
A third officer got out of a auto and fired what was believed to be the fatal shot, according to WLS. “We have also heard that the police department or the police took off their body cams or disconnected them”.
According to the report, the police department is investigating why the body camera did not record as it was supposed to.
“This is going to be a very active investigation”, Escalante said.
Video from the body camera, had it been recording, may have provided critical evidence in the shooting. They also do not say whether officers continued firing as the driver ran away-or if it was the driver who was killed.
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It’s the latest shooting to highlight the already tenuous relationship between some communities and police, and it touches on broader issues that have time and again racked the Windy City: body cameras, police accountability and seemingly unstemmable violence.
