Protesters, Police Square Off in South Shore After Officer Fatally Shoots Man
By Nader Issa @NaderDIssa | email
Chicago Sun Times
A crowd of protesters sparred with a group of Chicago police officers Saturday evening near the street where an officer fatally shot a man during a confrontation in South Shore.
The chaotic scene simmered for hours after the encounter, as dozens of people chanting “murderers” and “no justice, no peace” lingered in the neighborhood. Several officers were hurt by rocks and bottles hurled at them, and police said four demonstrators were arrested.
The shooting happened about 5:30 p.m. in the 2000 block of East 71st Street, according to police and Chicago Fire Department officials.
Officers on foot saw “a man exhibiting characteristics of an armed person,” and a “confrontation” ensued when they tried to question him, Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi tweeted. An officer then opened fire.
The man, thought to be in his 30s, was pronounced dead at Jackson Park Hospital, CFD spokesman Larry Merritt said. No officers were hurt, and a weapon was recovered at the scene along with several magazines of ammunition, according to Guglielmi.
In a late-night press conference outside CPD headquarters, Chief of Patrol Fred Waller said the man had a bulge near his waistband and “became combative.” Guglielmi said the shooting was captured on the officer’s body camera.
People outside the crime scene after the shooting claimed a female officer shot the man, a neighborhood barber, at least five times in the back as he ran away, and that the officer was taken away from the scene in a police vehicle afterward as the crowd formed.
Dozens of officers were called to help control a tense scene as more than 100 people crowded around, chanting at police, “Who do you serve? Who do you protect?”
Tension boiled over about 7:30 p.m. as police tried to push protesters back from the scene, with officers hitting at least six people with batons and some protesters punching back. Police could be seen detaining a few people.
“We just want to live,” one woman said. “Our black kids keep getting killed. We just want to live.”
The scene cooled off for a while until more people flooded the area about 8:30 p.m., with some throwing glass bottles at officers. At least three people were then detained.
When police with batons entered a parking lot where protesters were gathered near the scene, scores of people scattered. Two officers shoved a Chicago Sun-Times reporter to the ground, smacking a cellphone out of his hand.
Gloria Rainge, 41, said the slain man went by the nickname “Snoop,” had a 5-year-old daughter and worked at a barbershop at 71st Street and Euclid Avenue.
Rainge said she was walking out of a nearby Walgreens store when she saw the officer tell the man not to sell loose cigarettes. The man said he wasn’t, the argument escalated and the officer fired as he ran away, Rainge said.
“He was cool, laid back, very intelligent,” Rainge said.
Protesters were active at the scene past 10:30 p.m. Police said two squad cars were damaged by people slashing tires and jumping on the vehicles, and that four officers were treated and released after being hit by rocks and bottles. Four arrests were made, and charges against one person were pending Sunday morning, police said.
“I know that they’re very passionate about things that happen in the community, especially when it’s dealing with police, but it got a little bit out of hand,” Waller said.
Protesters eventually made their way to the 3rd District police station at 70th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue.
“Every time they kill one of us they’re doing an injustice to everybody,” South Sider Aldo Reyes said. “They feel the heat, they know they’re wrong.”
Charlene Carruthers said she was at the scene of the shooting when she was pushed to the ground by an officer.
“It is completely unacceptable for us to pay for them to kill us,” she said.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability is investigating the use of force. Tips can be submitted at (312) 746-3609 or chicagocopa.org.
Contributing: Taylor Hartz
Chicago Sun Times
A crowd of protesters sparred with a group of Chicago police officers Saturday evening near the street where an officer fatally shot a man during a confrontation in South Shore.
The chaotic scene simmered for hours after the encounter, as dozens of people chanting “murderers” and “no justice, no peace” lingered in the neighborhood. Several officers were hurt by rocks and bottles hurled at them, and police said four demonstrators were arrested.
The shooting happened about 5:30 p.m. in the 2000 block of East 71st Street, according to police and Chicago Fire Department officials.
Officers on foot saw “a man exhibiting characteristics of an armed person,” and a “confrontation” ensued when they tried to question him, Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi tweeted. An officer then opened fire.
The man, thought to be in his 30s, was pronounced dead at Jackson Park Hospital, CFD spokesman Larry Merritt said. No officers were hurt, and a weapon was recovered at the scene along with several magazines of ammunition, according to Guglielmi.
In a late-night press conference outside CPD headquarters, Chief of Patrol Fred Waller said the man had a bulge near his waistband and “became combative.” Guglielmi said the shooting was captured on the officer’s body camera.
People outside the crime scene after the shooting claimed a female officer shot the man, a neighborhood barber, at least five times in the back as he ran away, and that the officer was taken away from the scene in a police vehicle afterward as the crowd formed.
Dozens of officers were called to help control a tense scene as more than 100 people crowded around, chanting at police, “Who do you serve? Who do you protect?”
Tension boiled over about 7:30 p.m. as police tried to push protesters back from the scene, with officers hitting at least six people with batons and some protesters punching back. Police could be seen detaining a few people.
“We just want to live,” one woman said. “Our black kids keep getting killed. We just want to live.”
The scene cooled off for a while until more people flooded the area about 8:30 p.m., with some throwing glass bottles at officers. At least three people were then detained.
When police with batons entered a parking lot where protesters were gathered near the scene, scores of people scattered. Two officers shoved a Chicago Sun-Times reporter to the ground, smacking a cellphone out of his hand.
Gloria Rainge, 41, said the slain man went by the nickname “Snoop,” had a 5-year-old daughter and worked at a barbershop at 71st Street and Euclid Avenue.
Rainge said she was walking out of a nearby Walgreens store when she saw the officer tell the man not to sell loose cigarettes. The man said he wasn’t, the argument escalated and the officer fired as he ran away, Rainge said.
“He was cool, laid back, very intelligent,” Rainge said.
Protesters were active at the scene past 10:30 p.m. Police said two squad cars were damaged by people slashing tires and jumping on the vehicles, and that four officers were treated and released after being hit by rocks and bottles. Four arrests were made, and charges against one person were pending Sunday morning, police said.
“I know that they’re very passionate about things that happen in the community, especially when it’s dealing with police, but it got a little bit out of hand,” Waller said.
Protesters eventually made their way to the 3rd District police station at 70th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue.
“Every time they kill one of us they’re doing an injustice to everybody,” South Sider Aldo Reyes said. “They feel the heat, they know they’re wrong.”
Charlene Carruthers said she was at the scene of the shooting when she was pushed to the ground by an officer.
“It is completely unacceptable for us to pay for them to kill us,” she said.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability is investigating the use of force. Tips can be submitted at (312) 746-3609 or chicagocopa.org.
Contributing: Taylor Hartz
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