Michael Cooper Charged With Shooting, Killing Man In Street In North Austin; Police Say Tip Came From Someone Protesting Jason Van Dyke's Release
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A man was arrested and charged with walking up behind another man and shooting him dead in the street in South Austin last month.
Michael Cooper was arrested in the Jan. 10 homicide and will appear in bond court on Friday, police Supt. David Brown said at a news conference Thursday afternoon.
Brown said Cooper followed the victim in the 400 block of North Laramie Avenue at 10:02 p.m. Jan. 10, and then shot him multiple times and killed him.
Detectives said Cooper was seen riding a Chicago Transit Authority bus shortly after the shooting.
Police later released surveillance photos and video. The video showed the suspect firing the shots.
Following the release of the POD camera video, multiple people called Area Four detectives and identified the gunman as Cooper, Brown said. But the tip that closed the case came from a setting that one might not expect.
"Our officers were working the protest against the early release of former Officer (Jason) Van Dyke. At that protest in Federal Plaza, there were many people in the crowd who wanted more charges brought against Van Dyke federally," Brown said. "Someone in that crowd approached one of our Chicago Police commanders and gave him a tip regarding that murder."
It was that tip that closed the loop in the case – from someone protesting a police action, Brown said.
"That's what trust looks like," Brown said. "We located that suspect and arrested him yesterday."