COPA Releases Video, Other Materials From January Incident Where Police Shot Woman In Lawndale
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Civilian Office of Police Accountability on Wednesday released video and other materials from an incident where an officer shot a woman in Lawndale back in January.
As CBS 2's Charlie De Mar reported, the evidence was released in line with the city's policy of making police shootings public within 60 days. Some of the video is graphic.
The incident happened at 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 9 in the 1500 block of South Karlov Avenue.
COPA at the time said three Chicago Police officers from the Community Safety Team were on patrol when they spotted a vehicle with two men and a woman inside that was illegally parked in a tow zone.
Officers talked with the people and asked them to get out of the car. The two men did get out, but the woman did not, COPA said.
As one of the officers talked to the woman, she brandished a gun and officers opened fire, striking her, COPA said at the time.
Body cam video shows an officer directing the woman to get out of the car as she sits in the driver's seat with the door open and a smartphone in her hand.
"You still have to come out of the vehicle," the officer tells the woman. "Once I tell you to step out of the vehicle, you have to step out of the vehicle."
The driver, identified as Keshawna Davidson, does not get out of the car. The two men who did step out are standing near the back.
That was when police said Davidson showed a gun. Two Chicago police officers shot the 20-year-old several times.
On the video, when the officer yells, "Let me see your hands!" the woman turns and the officer backs up and fires shots through the open doors of a police squad car.
A total of 19 shots are heard altogether.
Afterward, the woman is seen wounded on the ground and is handcuffed before being taken to the hospital. Her condition was stabilized and no one else was injured, COPA said.
As a sergeant arrives to sort the scene out, he instructs the officers who fired their guns to turn their body cameras off. The video ends shortly after that command.
Calls to 911 came flooding in.
Police said they found a gun on ground near the passenger side door.
Davidson survived, she was charged, and she is currently in jail facing at least four felony charges from that January day.
COPA has not made a determination on whether or not the shooting was justified. The investigation was still ongoing late Wednesday.
COPA said anyone who witnessed the incident or has more information should call the office at (312) 746-3609 or go to chicagocopa.org for more information.
