Video released of 2013 Chicago police shooting of black teen

In lifting a protective order in the Chatman family’s lawsuit Thursday, U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman ripped city attorneys for the about-face after months of fighting to keep the videos secret, sarcastically hailing the move as the “Age of Enlightenment”. He was armed only with a black iPhone box.

City officials said the video footage from three cameras, including a police camera, would likely be released later on Thursday.

Officers Kevin Fry and Lou Toth claimed they saw Chatman reach for an object before running away and that Fry fired four times because they were in fear for their lives.

“As he was fleeing, the suspect turned toward the officers, with the dark object in his right hand, causing one officer to open fire”, Hale’s email said. “Office Fry, it appeared, did not exhaust any method of capturing Chatman other than shooting him and killing him”, says Lorenzo Davis, a former IPRA investigator.

After Davis’ firing, a new investigator was assigned, who ruled the shooting justifiable, and police accounts given after Chatman died told a story that differed somewhat from Davis’ assessment. They ran the car’s Wisconsin license plates, but the vehicle came back clean, and they didn’t stop it at the time.

Black pastors and community leaders said they would boycott Emanuel’s annual Martin Luther King prayer breakfast on Friday to protest the city’s handling of police shootings.

The judge made the decision the day after city lawyers withdrew their opposition to the now two-year-old video’s release. 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.

The city attempted to spin the release as a change of heart and an effort to be more transparent, despite the fact they fought the release for years.

No charges have been brought against the two officers.

Emanuel and his administration have faced sharp criticism since the city released a police video in November showing a white police officer shooting a black teenager, Laquan McDonald, 16 times in 2014.

Boykin says lawmakers in Cook County-the place where Chicago is located-plan to push the IL legislature to adopt a new law that would allow the governor to mandate that a special prosecutor be appointed to examine cases involving police and unarmed civilians. He did not say anything or give any orders before opening fire.

Asked about the way officers responded, CBS 2 Security Consultant Ross Rice said it is reasonable for officers responding to a carjacking to assume a gun may have been involved.

A lawyer for Chatman’s family says the video will show he never turned toward officers and posed no threat.

Fry has had 30 complaints lodged against him over the years, including 10 allegations of excessive use of force.

After court, Brian Coffman, who represents Chatman’s family, said the family was suspicious of the timing of the city’s about-face. The report states: “Officer Fry said the offender had a dark gray/black object in his hand”.

“I know there’s a lot of public interest in this, and for good reason”, Gettleman said at a hearing on the matter in early December. It names the city, the two officers, and the Chicago Police Department as defendants. In total, 16 shots were fired. There was no admission of guilt as part of the settlement. Gettlemen said that wasn’t true: “It’s clear to me who fired the shots”.

Clarke and Odom were originally charged with first-degree murder for Chatman’s death because their involvement in the carjacking had spurred his shooting.