Body camera footage released of Chicago police officer shooting Reginald Clay Jr.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Civilian Office of Police Accountability on Wednesday released the body camera video of the police shooting of Reginald Clay Jr.
Clay was shot and killed during a foot chase by Chicago Police last month. His family saw the video Tuesday.
In the video, officers chase Clay into a narrow gangway and Clay turns toward one officer and appears to pull something that looks like a gun out of his waist. He is shot by the officer in the chest a second later, holds out his hands and collapses. Another video released by COPA shows an officer administering CPR chest compressions on Clay in the gangway.
The shooting happened around 10 a.m. Saturday, April 15, in the 3800 block of West Flournoy Street in the North Lawndale neighborhood.
According to CPD, officers were in the area as a result of a gang killing about a week earlier. They were involved in a "de-escalation mission" when they saw several people near a vehicle, police said.
Clay was seen leaning into the vehicle, police said. As the officers got out of their squad car, Clay put his hand in his wristband and fled on foot through a gangway, police said.
It was unclear why officers began pursuing Clay, but they say he turned toward an officer with a firearm — leading to a fatal shot by police. The police report says Clay was in possession of a 40 caliber Glock. The report also does not indicate why officers were pursuing Clay other than to state officers were conducting an "investigatory stop" and that Clay refused officers' commands to stop. The officer's paperwork of the incident checked a box indicating the initiating factor of the foot pursuit was "reasonable articulatable suspicion," but no explanation of what that suspicion was.
But an update two days after the shooting from COPA — which has had access to body cam video — makes no mention of him turning toward the officer with a gun. Their version says Clay was in possession of a firearm which was recovered on the scene.
Clay's father said there was no reason for officers to pursue his son.
"No reason, no reason at all to chase him – none," said Reginald Clay Sr. "Guess what – he's never coming back because of this reckless police officer or officers. It's reckless, man. You all know its reckless."
The family says the 24-year-old Clay was in the process of trying to surrender to authorities.
In the weeks after the shooting, questioned emerged as to whether the shooting was justified.
"Reaching into the wasteband or pocket area, that is a sign of immediate danger," said Prof. David Harris who studies police behavior at the University of Pittsburgh. "And when the gun appears and the man is still advancing, that makes the shooting appear reasonable."
The officers involved are on paid leave. COPA has not released any findings on their investigation. The officer who fired the shot has no record of prior misconduct.
Late Wednesday, a protest outside Chicago Public Safety Headquarters spilled out onto the streets as they chanted Clay's name.
Clay's family has also sued the Chicago Police Department in federal court, claiming the shooting was a case of excessive force.
