Video of fatal shooting involving 5 Chicago police officers expected to be released
By Omar Jimenez and Holly Yan, CNN
(CNN) — Body camera footage of a deadly police-involved shooting is expected to be released Tuesday, an attorney for the slain man’s family and a source from Chicago’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability told CNN.
The deadly encounter happened March 21, when Dexter Reed, 26, was shot and killed in Chicago’s in Garfield Park neighborhood, Chicago police said.
According to preliminary information, the incident started when five officers assigned to a tactical unit pulled over a vehicle for a traffic stop, the accountability office said in a March news release.
After the initial traffic stop, an “exchange of gunfire” ensued, Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said.
In video captured nearby and posted to the Citizen app matching the day and approximate location of the incident, the sound of what appears to be over two dozen shots can be heard.
“The offender in the incident was struck in gunfire by our officers,” Snelling told reporters on March 21. “One of our officers was struck in the left wrist, suffered a non-life-threatening injury.”
The police chief said “there’s bodycam footage of everything” and the accountability office has the police department’s “full cooperation.”
According to the accountability office, “The officers approached the vehicle while giving verbal commands to an individual inside. There was then an exchange of gunfire between the officers, who were positioned on each side of the vehicle, and the individual.”
“The individual was struck by gunfire multiple times and was transported to the hospital and later pronounced deceased. A gun was recovered on the scene,” the office said.
The family’s attorney, Andrew M. Stroth, told CNN the family will view the bodycam footage Monday afternoon and will hold a news conference outside the accountability office headquarters Tuesday afternoon to discuss the contents of the video.
Police bodycam footage has played an increasing role in raising awareness and understanding about officer-involved shootings. Such evidence has been used to help convict some officers of crimes, while other officers have avoided criminal charges after the release of bodycam footage.
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated which agency will be releasing the bodycam video. It is the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.
CNN’s Elizabeth Joseph contributed to this report.
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