Footage of Police Killing a 17-Year-Old Was Just Released

Chicago’s decision – involving the video of 17-year-old Cedrick Chatman – may signal a shift in how cities and prosecutors handle the release of such footage.

Three years ago, police gunfire felled black teen Cedrick Chatman as he ran away from them and cameras rolled. The officer says he fired after seeing Chatman turn toward officers with a dark object in his hand that he thought was a gun.

Chatman was unarmed, and it was later shown that he was holding a black iPhone box, though the guideline states that police only need to “believe” the suspect can harm someone in order to pull the trigger. On Wednesday, January 13, the city announced they were dropping their request to keep private the videos showing Chatman’s death and won’t push back if the judge decides to release the evidence.

That policy was tested about a month and a half after the Rahim shooting in Boston, when an unarmed black motorist named Samuel DuBose was shot and killed during a traffic stop.

In the hearing, Gettleman, who has already viewed the video, said that it appeared to show that Toth was on Chatman’s heels as he pursued him and near the line of fire.

This video also brings more controversy to Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s doorstep; the mayor has been dealing with calls for his resignation since the McDonald shooting video was released.

Chatman’s mother sued the city in federal court, and a judge was set to rule on Thursday on whether or not to allow the release of the videos. “He was running away, so why kill him?” he said in an interview last month, according to the Times.

“I’m very disturbed at the way this happened”, Gettleman said. Her attorney, Brian Coffman, says the teen never turned toward the officers and posed no threat.

Lawyer Mark Smolens said he hoped the release would initiate “system wide change in the way police misconduct is treated in the city of Chicago”, and added “that’s what this fight is about in the bigger picture”. He later filed a federal lawsuit against IPRA alleging he was sacked for his findings on several cases-including Chatman’s-in which he found that officers had unjustifiably used lethal force.

Hale said a nationally-recognized expert on police use of force has produced a report concluding that the shooting was justified. Neither officer was ever disciplined, and both remain on active street duty. “We must send a signal through the Chicago Police Department that this type of behavior will not be tolerated”.

He confirmed there were no pending criminal investigations against the two officers in the Chatman shooting.

When Chatman made the slight move to his right with his torso, Fry said, he immediately planted both his feet and took a firing position.

After Thursday’s hearing, community activists said they were pleased the video was coming out but were incredulous of the city’s shifting philosophy.

Autopsy reports prepared by the Cook County medical examiner’s office say LeGrier was shot in the chest, back, buttock and left arm and two suffered graze wounds.

His conclusion in the case was reversed after a supervisor, Joshua Hunt, reviewed Davis’ work and accused him of being sloppy in his investigation. The man in question, Quintonio LeGrier, was killed by police after he was shot seven times. “I see in his right hand a dark gray or black object”, Fry said; so he shot four times.

“It’s not really practicing transparency”, said William Calloway, who had pushed for the release of the Chatman video.

The detail of Chatman’s last words was included in hundreds of pages of investigative records released by the city Friday that laid out how Chatman’s suspected involvement in a violent robbery and carjacking ended with his fatal shooting less than a mile away.