A recent shooting by two Chicago police officers has resulted in charges being filed and a judge’s order to prevent the withholding of a video that captured the event. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability announced plans to release the video to the public. The police union, which is defending the officers, filed a motion to suppress the video, which they say unfairly biases the public against the officers.
Authorities now believe that the two officers lied about being fired on first and actually were the first to shoot. The police claim that the video only shows half of what happened and fails to show a 17-year-old boy in a “two-point stance” holding a gun. No charges have yet been filed against a 17-year-old who was on the scene at the time of the shooting. Another man was hit and critically wounded, but it is unclear if the bullets came from police or the civilian.
COPA says the video was edited to protect the privacy of the minor. It remains unclear if the video shows the minor in a two-point stance holding a weapon and firing on police officers or not. However, State’s Attorney Kim Foxx has stated that the officers lied about being fired on first. Superintendent David Brown concurred with Foxx’s findings that there was no exchange of gunfire prior to the officers opening fire on the suspects. At that point, the 17-year-old did pull a gun on the officers and returned fire. Both officers have been stripped of police duties and are now facing charges for the shooting.
Analyzing the Situation
The two officers were on their way to training and were in an unmarked car at the time. Neither officer was wearing a body camera at the time of the incident. On their way, they decided to confront a group that had gathered. It appeared that the suspect who was accused of firing on the officers had both hands up when the officers shot at the group. Instead of corroborating the officer’s claims, the video shows the teen pulling a gun from a satchel and returning fire. It seems unlikely that the teen pulled a gun, fired at police, put the gun back in the satchel, waited for the police to fire on him, and then returned fire. The officer’s story doesn’t make sense or add up, and even if the video showed the teen, it would not show the teen shooting at officers, putting the gun back in his satchel, and then taking it out again to fire a second time.
The police will be charged with filing a false report, reckless endangerment, or attempted murder, the same crime they were trying to pin on the 17-year-old. Why these things happen remains unclear, but had the police officers simply gone to their training, they would still have a job and not be facing charges related to the shooting of a member of the public.
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David Freidberg represents the interests of those charged with serious crimes in Cook County, Il. Call today at (312) 560-7100, and we can begin preparing your defense.