Video Shows Black Teen With Hands Up When Shot by Chicago Police Department Officer After Carjacking
An unarmed person 13 year old black boy raised his hand to the sky when he was shot down by a gun. Chicago Police Department in May, new surveillance video obtained by The Daily Beast shows.
In the video, the teenager — known only by his initials AG — runs off the sidewalk and into the light of a gas station parking lot with his arms raised before turning to the right.
The boy was then shot by a Chicago Police Department officer and collapsed in cement in front of a gas pump.
After he was shot, the new video also shows two officers transporting the teenager to another location with only two legs and a piece of clothing as his arm is dragged quickly across the sidewalk — something that the Superintendent of Police said. Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown stated earlier it was to avoid harm from an explosion at the gas pump following the shooting.
But just moments after they did, a police response vehicle plowed into the gas station and crashed into the station’s signpost, attracting the attention of nearly all of the approximately 20 officers who were far away from the teenager. .
In one litigation filed by the family last month, the lawsuit alleges AG complied with the officer’s instructions, and that although AG survived, “he suffered permanent and catastrophic injuries.”
“The CPD officers did not immediately invite assistants to AG, but instead mercilessly dragged him across the sidewalk and then turned their attention to an uninjured officer who crashed into a sign at a gas station upon arrival at the scene,” reads the complaint.
The young man – who his attorney said enjoyed playing basketball and mountain biking – was initially hospitalized in critical condition at Stroger Cook County Hospital.
AG was not charged, no officers were fired, and no weapons were recovered at the scene.
The teenager is at risk of never walking again after suffering a severe spinal injury and “at this point, his legs are immobile”.
Chicago police showed up to lift the boy up with his sweater after shooting him.
Illustration by The Daily Beast / Handout
Attorney Andrew M Stroth told The Daily Beast he also suffered major injuries to his esophagus, and a shrapnel still lodged in the boy’s back.
AG is currently at the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab, a rehabilitation facility in Chicago, trying to regain his ability to walk.
“His desire is to be healthy, his desire is to walk, his desire is to play basketball, his desire is to ride a bike,” Stroth said.
“You have yet another young black man shot in the back in a city by federal consent decree, in a city that hasn’t enacted a new foot chase policy that preserves and respects the respect of others. rigor of life.”
In an interview with the press 24 hours after the shooting, Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown would not say whether the boy raised his hands in the air.
He later told reporters that an officer discharged his weapon and shot the AG once.
A witness told ABC7 that the teen complied with police orders.
“They said, ‘Hands up, hands up!’ The boy raised his hand. There are other people out there who have seen it. I got it all on my phone – he raised his hand. He doesn’t have a gun. They shot him for no reason,” the witness said.
The Chicago Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the video.
A police car can be seen ramming into a gas station causing thousands of dollars in damage.
Illustration by The Daily Beast / Handout
When AG was shot, it became the latest in a series of teenagers shot down by Chicago police.
Last year, another 13-year-old boy, Adam Toledo, was discovered to have shoot and kill while his hand is in the air. And in 2014, Laquan McDonald was killed after being shot 16 times by Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke before multiple officers were implicated in a cover-up.
Since Toledo’s death, also following a foot chase, the Chicago Police Department has not implemented a permanent foot chase policy — a cause of growing resentment among community members. and supporters.
Police have alleged that AG was a passenger in a silver Honda Accord that they believe was involved in a carjacking the day before. When he drove away, the police chased him to the gas station.
The driver, in both incidents, fled.
Police expert Dr Dennis Kenney, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said whether the unnamed officer had a reason to shoot the teenager would be better weighed through looking at the facts. body camera footage. .
Regarding the shooting itself, it “depends on whether a reasonable officer is aware that he or she is in danger of death or serious bodily harm,” he said.
The City’s Civilian Police Accountability Office is currently investigating the incident, but declined to comment to Beast.
According to their attorney, Stroth, the mother of AG, is demanding the release of all videos related to the case. The City of Chicago denied the family’s request for a public video on the grounds that AG was a minor.
“Why didn’t they release this video? The mom wants to release the video,” said Stroth.
“If the city wants transparency, the city needs to release this video immediately.”
