Body camera video released in fatal Chicago area police shooting of Jack Murray
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Officials in northwest suburban Elk Grove Village have released some body camera footage from the fatal police shooting of Jack Murray, a man with a history of mental health issues who approached officers with a knife outside his home earlier this month.
Murray's family has said police were well aware of his history of mental health issues, and they have hired attorneys from the well-known firm of Romanucci & Blandin, who have launched a civil investigation into Murray's shooting death - focusing on the handling of what they are describing as a distress call.
Attorneys for the Murray family said the video footage released by Elk Grove Village on Monday does not show key moments of the incident, calling the footage that was released a public relations spin job.
Some of the video has been blurred, and the Murray family's attorneys also noted that the second of two body camera angles released does not show the shooting itself, only showing the moments before and after the shooting.
"The self-motivated, pre-packaged video montage created by Elk Grove Village Police about the death of Jack Murray shows a decidedly partial version of the event with a heavy hand of spin," attorney Antonio Romanucci said in a statement.
The family's attorneys said the one thing the video does prove is that responding officers did not do much to de-escalate the situation that ended in Murray's death.
Shortly before 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 1, multiple officers responded to a home in the 200 block of Fern Drive in Elk Grove Village in response to a 911 call about a person "acting erratic with a knife."
That caller is believed to be Murray, 24, who was slurring his speech and in distress, his family said.
Upon arriving at the home, responding officers told dispatchers to instruct Murray's family, including his mother and father, to come out of the home. Moments later, Murray walked out of the home with a knife in hand, and began approaching officers.
Body camera footage and dispatch recordings released on Monday revealed officers were familiar with Murray's history of mental health problems.
WARNING: Video contains content some people might find disturbing
Knowing a caller had told police Murray was wielding a knife before they arrived, one officer urged dispatchers to tell other people to get out of the house and later expressed reluctance to approach the home until the other people inside could get out.
"I don't want to approach the house yet. I want to see if they can get out of the house," he said.
Moments later, body camera footage shows Murray approaching the officers with a knife in his hand as police repeatedly tell him to put his hands up.
"He's going to get himself Tased," one officer said as Murray approached them.
In footage from a second officer's body camera, a woman in the background can be held asking Murray to put his knife down as he walks toward police.
Police and Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson have said officers twice deployed a Taser on Murray as he approached them, and the sound of a Taser can be heard on the video footage as officers repeatedly tell Murray to drop the knife.
"Unfortunately, these efforts were not effective in neutralizing the threat to the officers' safety," Johnson said.
Within seconds of the officers deploying a Taser, one of the officers can be seen firing at least six shots with his service pistol. Murray was later pronounced dead at an area hospital.
"This was somebody who needed medical help, and not police intervention. Now, in regards to the crisis intervention training, I saw none of that," Romanucci told CBS 2's Andrew Ramos. "They knew who Jack was. So they knew they were approaching someone who had problems. Jack was not okay."
In a video statement released with the body camera footage, Johnson insisted crisis intervention, mental health, and de-escalation training tactics were used during the incident.
"Unfortunately, these efforts were not effective in neutralizing the threat to officers' safety," Johnson said.
The Murray family's legal team noted the video footage confirmed officers at the scene were equipped with at least one rifle loaded with non-lethal "bean bag" rounds that could have been used to subdue Murray, but police did not use that option.
"From the video, it appears officers took only several seconds between the use of a taser and the use of deadly force," Romanucci said.
Attorneys also criticized Elk Grove Village for adding captions to the video describing what is being shown and how officers are trained in the use of lethal and less-than-lethal force.
"We strenuously object to Elk Grove Village adding their personal narrative to the body and dash cam footage. What was released is an edited movie meant to confuse viewers about the legality of what officers are required to do to de-escalate a situation like this with a clearly emotionally distressed person," Romanucci said.
"What we do know is what we already knew and what we have maintained from the beginning. That day, Jack was physically injured, emotionally distressed, confused and slurring and not OK. He was well-known to the EGVPD, as they admit on video. Rather than send medical aid or social services, EGV dispatched the full force of their Police Department, and the outcome of Jack's death was inevitable. This situation is beyond sad, and we vigorously maintain that Jack did not need to die that day."
Johnson acknowledged that the video footage and dispatch recordings released on Monday were only a portion of the video and audio recordings from the incident. He said the full footage will be released later.
Murray's family has said police knew about his history of mental health issues, and they don't accept the police narrative of the shooting.
"He knew there were times he needed help quickly and believed police could help him," said Murray's aunt, Liz Belcaster.
Belcaster also said Murray was a type 1 diabetic -- with insulin levels impacting his behavior.
"He was challenged by his health issues being a type one diabetic," Belcaster said. "It impacted him physically and was also a significant emotional challenge."
Murray also had a history of calling the police when he felt his health and wellness were in danger and frequently checked himself into the hospital, the family said.
The family believes Murray himself called the police Friday. Attorneys say they have reason to believe he placed the call, but police haven't confirmed that.
"We have many questions about what happened that day and really just want answers," said Belcaster.
The shooting is being investigated by the suburban Major Case Assistance Team. Johnson said the investigation could take weeks or months to complete.