Another Police Story...

Another police involved shooting, of an unarmed black man, this time in Chicago.  This time, the in-car cameras and bodycam videos were released only 1 week later.  I started watching the videos, to try and figure out what happened, how an 18 year old kid, who stole a car, ended up shot in the back, and dead.  For me, the answer came after watching: bodycam video 4.

I believe this is the bodycam worn by the officer who shot, and killed the suspect (Paul O'Neal).

In-car Camera 5 shows a police vehicle in pursuit of the suspect in the stolen Jaguar.  In-car Camera 5 is a Police vehicle (intentionally) driving the wrong way down a one way street, trying to stop the stolen Jag.  It stops, as the stolen vehicle approaches them, and those 2 cops get out, weapons drawn.  The Jag squeezes by the cop SUV, on the drivers side, and the cop on the passenger side, (bodycam2) fires a whole lot of shots at the moving vehicle, as he steps out of the police SUV, and continues to fire, as it speeds down the street, where it collides with another Police SUV head on.  The officer who shot at the car, says on his bodycam2 video a bunch of times, that he shot at him, because he almost hit his partner with the car, which you can see on bodycam1.  That officer (bodycam1) fired off a number of shots as the Jag sped away too.

Seconds later, a Cop SUV gets hit head-on by the stolen Jag, (In-car camera 1) and those 2 officers jump out, and chase the suspect on foot towards a nearby yard.   I think it was one of those officers, who shot him, just after the head on collision, based on when I heard shots. That officer, thought the shots from the other 2 officers, were coming from the suspects vehicle, and were directed at them.  It was very chaotic, and I completely understand his mistake after watching the videos.   The problem here is, the suspect was running away, and he didn't have a weapon.  I feel most terrible for 2 families.  The family of the 18 year old, yeah, he messed up and stole a car, led police on a dangerous chase, and ran away from police, but he didn't deserve to die for that.  The family of the police officer who shot and killed him.  I actually believe it was an honest mistake.  I must say, I think the shots fired at the moving vehicle, as it sped away, are the real reason things went awry.  Maybe I'm wrong, but it felt like that officer would never have mistaken the gunfire, as that of shots coming from the suspect, if those officers weren't shooting at the moving vehicle.  Then again, the suspect did almost hit one of them as he squeezed by, and then crashed the stolen Jag into another police SUV head on, which were very aggressive moves.  The officer wearing the bodycam video 4 says "They're going to crucify me!" after learning that the suspect didn't have a weapon, and sadly, I understand what he means.  Both men made mistakes.  18 year old Paul O'Neal made the mistake of stealing a car, crashing it in to a police car, and running from Police, even after they started firing at him...but the way things have been lately, black men say they often fear they will be shot by police, even if they are unarmed.   Maybe he wanted to surrender, and felt like there wasn't a safe opportunity to, we'll never know.  The officer who shot him, misunderstood the source of gunfire, as a speeding stolen vehicle crashed into them head-on, and a suspected car thief jumped out and ran away. It was a chaotic and dangerous scene, but it was a mistake to shoot him in the back, without seeing him holding a weapon.

This case feels different to me, than the Laquan McDonald shooting though, don't you think?  And Philando Castile's case.  Those cops seemed trigger happy, and out of control.  I think this time was different, but something has to change.  Feel free to tell me what you think.  Especially if you're in law enforcement, CPD, and can explain what the laws/policies are for this scenario.  Or don't tell me what you think.  That's cool too.  Thanks for reading.

Important sidenote: SUPER suspicious that the bodycam video of the actual shooting is conveniently not available.