A family is demanding answers after their beloved Dexter Reed, 26, died after apparently firing at a Chicago police officer during a traffic stop last month.
The road closure quickly stopped working.
Around 3 p.m. on March 21, five members of the Chicago Police Department’s tactical unit stopped Reed for not wearing a seatbelt.
One officer ordered Reed to roll down his window. Mr. Reed, who was in the driver’s seat, initially complied, but almost immediately began rolling up his window again.
“Roll down the window,” the officer demanded, according to police footage released Tuesday. “What are you doing? Lower that too. Hey! Don’t roll up the window, don’t roll it up. Don’t roll up the window. Unlock the door.”
Moments later, Reed appears to have pulled out a weapon and fired at the officer, who was near the passenger door. It is unclear how many shots Reed fired, but at least one bullet wounded the officer in the forearm. statement This was announced by the Civilian Police Accountability Office. The police officer’s current condition is unknown.
The other four officers returned fire on the suspect almost instantly, applying barrage of fire within 40 seconds. The report does not say whether Reed continued to fire his gun during this time, but video evidence shows that Reed briefly drove his car forward and struck a parked car.
Reed then got out of the car and ran around behind it, but the officers apparently had no way of knowing that he had left the gun in the front seat and was unarmed at the time. Reed, who was standing near the SUV’s left taillight, was hit by several more police shots and fell to the ground before one of the officers fired three more shots, video showed.
The officers, all wearing plain clothes, reportedly then attempted to render aid. Reed was eventually taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
“A review of the video footage and initial reports appears to confirm that Mr. Reed fired the shots first,” the COPA statement said.
Despite Mr. Reed’s apparent insubordination and evidence showing he started firing, the family still believes the police response (96 shots total) was unwarranted.
“Why did they shoot him so many times?” Reed’s mother asked in an interview with CNN. “He’s already dead. Why did you start shooting him like that?”
“They shot him like an animal.”
Some have questioned the sham traffic stop and the officers involved. CBS 2 asked a former Chicago Police Department lieutenant first class. Anthony Riccio asks whether tactical units often initiate relatively routine traffic stops. Andrea Kerstenthe chief executive of COPA had a question in mind. letter Last week, “Would the officer have been able to witness this seat belt violation given their relative positions?” [the] Dark shades of cars and car windows. ”
”[The incident] “It began with an unconstitutional, pretextual, and unnecessary suspension,” a lawyer representing the family argued.
COPA called for four of the five officers involved to be suspended while the matter continues to be investigated.
On Tuesday night, Reed’s younger brother, 24, julius reedwas arrested during a protest near a Chicago police station after footage of the shootout was released. The younger Reed was charged with one misdemeanor count of larceny and two misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest, prompting calls on social media for his release.
“He is #DexterReed’s brother who swarmed him last night, threw him to the ground for no good reason, and is now in custody!” GoodKidsMadCity, a race-based group calling for police abolition, tweeted. .
It is unclear whether Julius Reed remains in custody.
Democratic Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also appears to be supporting Reed’s family over the city’s law enforcement officials. “As a mayor, as a father raising a family of two black boys on Chicago’s West Side, I am personally shocked to see a young black man lose his life in a confrontation with police,” he said. Ta. “Our hearts break for Dexter Reed’s family. They are grieving the loss of their son, brother, and nephew.”
But some suggested that since Reed appeared to have fired first, a return fire was inevitable. “You can’t shoot a police officer and expect to get nothing,” said Charles Ramsey, a former Chicago police officer. CNNHe said he had concerns about the final three shots against Reed. “I can’t help it.”
David Harris, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, made similar comments to CBS 2. “If you shoot at police, you should be prepared to fight back,” Harris said. “There’s no other way to look at it.”
CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez also wrote in a since-deleted tweet: “The police’s initial response here is to shoot back, not to ask what’s at stake.”
Former police first lieutenant. Riccio also noted that Reed “illegally possessed a firearm in his vehicle” and failed to comply with officers’ commands.
“You know, what were his intentions?”
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