Judge to rule on release of Chicago police shooting video

It was officer Kevin Fry who shot and killed Chatman in January of 2013 in broad daylight but was never charged.

The release Thursday of video footage that shows the fatal police shooting of a black teenager in Chicago in 2013 underscores how significant the public’s demand for more transparency in the criminal justice system has become.

Overhead video that city attorneys consider the primary footage shows the officer shooting at Chatman, but it is grainy and doesn’t reveal much, including whether the teen turned back toward the two pursuing officers or had anything in his hand, as they claimed. Fry said Chatman slightly turned around toward the officers and that he thought Chatman had a gun. The video was captured from a “blue light” camera mounted above an intersection near a high school and local businesses.

Brian Coffman, co-counsel for the slain teen’s mother, Linda Chatman, said that the video will show that the teen was “running away as fast as he can” from police.

Its release comes just weeks after Chicago PD released dash cam video of another unarmed black teen being shot and killed.

Both incidents involved a white police officer shooting a black suspect. IPRA has declined to comment on Davis’ case because the litigation is ongoing.

The lawsuit stated that IPRA ordered Davis to change his findings in at least six different cases between 2014 and 2015 and to “more favorably reflect” upon the accused officers’ conducts in his reports.

Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez has dismissed the local Democratic leadership’s endorsement of one of her political rivals, saying it isn’t a setback for her re-election bid. Neither officer was ever disciplined, and both remain on active street duty. Davis, a former longtime Chicago police officer, has filed a wrongful-termination lawsuit against the review authority.

The city’s lawyers said they would distribute the video later on Thursday. “I think it’s irresponsible”.

The mayor has said the city should reconsider its previous policy of not releasing videos during investigations.

Although activists say they are pleased with the release of the video, they are still leery about the city’s shift in philosophy as it relates to the fatal shootings of unarmed citizens. He said Green’s unusual “speech” in court showed how the city was “really trying to control the message”.

“They are still not being transparent and we are still not hearing details of how they are going to change”, said Coffman. That video raised questions about other police shootings, the system of discipline for officers in Chicago and about other videos the city has opted to keep private.

The information was included in hundreds of pages of documents that the city released Friday. Attorneys for the officers say the video supports their version of events. Fry presses his boot into Chatman’s back. He is being chased by Office Lou Toth. Gettlemen said that wasn’t true: “It’s clear to me who fired the shots”. Toth then stepped on the dead boy’s neck and kept his foot there until other officers arrived.

Fry fired four shots at the teenager, striking him with two bullets after allegedly seeing Chatman point an object at the officers.

“As Mr. Chatman approaches the corner, he makes a slight turn, a subtle turn to the right with his upper body”, Fry said in the deposition, according to a transcript. The object, it turned out, was a black iPhone box.