Chicago police clash with angry residents after deadly shooting
CHICAGO -- Footage from body cameras and surveillance cameras shows that a man who was shot and killed by a Chicago police officer was armed with what appears to be a handgun, a department spokesman said Sunday. The shooting Saturday evening in the Grand Crossing neighborhood on the city's South Side sparked a clash between angry residents and baton-wielding officers.
"We're pissed off; we're tired," community activist William Calloway told CBS Chicago. "You're killing us!"
Four protesters were arrested and some police officers suffered minor injuries from thrown rocks and bottles, some of which were filled with urine. Two squad cars were also damaged.
On Sunday, the man was identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner's office as 37-year-old Harith Augustus of Chicago and said an autopsy was scheduled for Sunday. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Augustus wasn't a known gang member and had no recent arrest history.
Police found a handgun and two magazines of bullets at the shooting site and sent them for testing, Guglielmi said.
.@Chicago_Police say the man had a semi-automatic weapon and magazine clips on him. They do not believe at this time that he had a concealed carry permit. @cbschicago
— Maggie Huynh (@maggiehuynh) July 15, 2018
Calloway demanded the police release the video of the shooting immediately, CBS Chicago reported.
"We don't trust what CPD says. Show us. Don't wait 60 days. Show the community now," he said
The shooting happened after officers patrolling on foot tried to question the man over a "bulge around his waistband" that suggested he was armed, patrol chief Fred Waller told reporters. The man, who lived a short distance away, broke free and ran from the officers, who believed "he appeared to be reaching for a weapon" and shot him, he said.
During the protest that followed the shooting, officers pulled people to the ground and struck them with batons.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which investigates officer-involved shootings, said it was analyzing the video and asking anyone who may have captured cellphone footage of it to share the footage with the agency. The agency will release the video to the public within 60 days, unless ordered not to by a court, said agency spokesman Ephraim Eaddy.
It was at least the third time in the last two weeks that a Chicago police officer shot someone.
Chicago has a troubled history of police shootings. The city erupted in protest in 2015 after the release of a video showing a white police officer shoot a black 17-year-old, Laquan McDonald, 16 times a year earlier. The officer, Jason Van Dyke, was charged with murder. McDonald's death led to the ouster of the police chief and a series of reforms meant to prevent future police abuses and to hold officers accountable.