CPD officer responding to ShotSpotter opened fire on teen setting off fireworks, video shows
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Newly released body camera video on Tuesday revealed the chaotic moments caught on body camera video in Auburn Gresham, as a Chicago police officer opened fire on a teenager setting off fireworks in an alley, because he thought he and other officers were being shot at.
In this case, no injuries were reported.
Just before 11:30 p.m. on Jan. 25, officers responded to a ShotSpotter notification of gunfire in an alley near the 8500 block of South Winchester Avenue.
Body camera footage released by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability on Tuesday showed what unfolded, and how it nearly ended in tragedy.
COPA confirmed the officers were responding to a ShotSpotter alert of shots fired in the area. Video shows three CPD officers getting out of their patrol vehicle in the alley when they saw a person standing outside a home.
"What's up? What you doing, bro?" one of the officers asked.
After a brief exchange, a loud banging noise rang out, and one of the officers shouted, "shots fired at police, shots fired at Winchester."
Believing they were under attack, one of the officers opened fire, and took cover, then quickly assessed the situation.
"They saying it's fireworks but ran in the house," an officer said.
Another angle from the scene revealed bullets weren't being fired. Instead, fireworks had been set off.
Surveillance video footage showed the teen running off as the fireworks went off.
COPA confirmed no shots were fired at police, and said it is still investigating the incident.
Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling said appropriate action will be taken if the officer who fired shots is determined to have violated department policy.
"We have to get the full story before we determine if they did the right thing or did not do the right thing," Snelling said.
As the investigation continues, many questions remain unanswered, including whether ShotSpotter gunshot sensors mistook the fireworks for gunfire.
All officers involved were placed on routine administrative duty for 30 days.
A final report on the incident expected to be complete in the coming weeks.
University of Chicago Law School professor Craig Futterman said the case highlights how critical data is to policing, and getting it right the first time.
"Our children's lives are at stake, a child could've lost his life here," he said. "If you send an officer into a residential neighborhood with bad information, thinking you have an active shooter, that's a recipe for disaster."
Chicago is ending its ShotSpotter contract later this year. The city's contract with SoundThinking, the company behind ShotSpotter, had been set to expire earlier this month, but the city and SoundThinking agreed to keep the system running through Sept. 22.
CBS 2 recently obtained a leaked internal report from the Cook County State's Attorney's office – which found that the Shotspotter system has "minimal return on investment" when it comes to holding shooters accountable. According to the report, only 1% of shooting incidents in Chicago end in a ShotSpotter arrest, while 92% of shooting incidents are unrelated to ShotSpotter.
The city's inspector general in 2021 issued a report finding ShotSpotter alerts rarely lead officers to evidence of an actual gun crime.
