Chicago police officials have released footage from police cars and body cameras in the case of Paul O’Neal. O’Neal was shot and killed by CPD officers on July 28. Police allege that O’Neal was driving a stolen Jaguar and drove away from the officers when approached. Video footage shows officers attempting to block the car from driving off when it veers away from hitting one police vehicle. That’s when police begin firing. This all takes place in a residential neighborhood. One of the videos is posted below the fold.
The videos show officers firing on the reportedly stolen Jaguar as it drove away from them, and their shots appear to place officers farther down the street in danger of being shot. The city's use-of-force policy explicitly bars police from firing at a moving vehicle if it represents the only threat against officers.
The videos capture at least 15 shots being fired in about five seconds as the Jaguar passed the officers and drove away.
The Jaguar then collides head-on with another police vehicle and a person—said to be O’Neal—gets out of the car and runs. Footage shows officers chasing the person and records shots being fired, but only the aftermath of O’Neal’s shooting is recorded:
The fatal shot itself was not captured on video, department officials said, even though the officer who chased and shot O'Neal was wearing a body camera. Department officials have not said why the camera did not record the shooting.
In the minutes after the shooting, the officers' comments made clear that at least one of them suspected O'Neal had shot at them.
"They shot at us, too, right?" an officer asked.
O’Neal was unarmed and an autopsy found he had been shot in the back. Three officers, said to have discharged their weapons, have been relieved of their police powers as the case is investigated. You can watch the video below.
More than 10 videos from body and dash cameras have been released. The shortest one appears to be about four minutes long, while others vary in length from 10 minutes to more than 20 minutes. They start from the beginning of officers firing at the fleeing vehicle to later on in the evening, after an ambulance has been called to the scene.
The swift release of the videos in this case—as well as the move to remove the officers involved from the field—seemingly shows Chicago’s willingness to embrace accountability and transparency.
Let’s hope this is indeed the case.