During an attempt to arrest a suspect in a car after a traffic stop, plainclothes police officers in the US city of Chicago fired 96 shots over 41 seconds. The driver of the car was killed. It can be seen in video footage that an agency that monitors police actions released on Tuesday.
Firearm
The incident happened on March 21 in the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago’s West Side. The driver of the arrested car had pulled out a firearm and shot one of the police officers in the wrist.
Body cam
Bodycam footage from the four officers shows the 26-year-old driver resisting orders to roll down the windows of his car and open the door. As officers shouted at him, the driver opened fire, hitting one of the officers in the hand.
The four other officers returned fire almost immediately.
Motionless
At one point the suspect lay ‘motionless on the ground’, according to the supervisor, after which one of the officers shot him three more times. This officer shot at least fifty bullets.
The supervisor believes that the group of officers lied about why they stopped the man in the car for a check and wonders why.
According to the police report, the plan was to check the man because he was not wearing a seat belt. But the supervisor determined that this was not visible to the officers due to the tinted windows.
Disproportionate
The supervisor also believes that the officers approached the suspect too aggressively and that the firearm violence was disproportionate.
She believes the four officers should be relieved of their duties and has filed a report with the FBI.
The West Side of Chicago where the audit took place is one of the most violent parts of the city. The Harrison police district, which includes Garfield Park and parts of Humboldt Park and North Lawndale, has had the most shootings for years.
