Friday 5 August 2016

Chicago police shooting: Video shows moments before suspect's death

An independent police review panel in Chicago has released video showing the moments that led to the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager.
The footage shows police officers firing on the car that Paul O'Neal, 18, was driving, before chasing him on foot.
The panel called the footage "shocking and disturbing".
New rules dictate that Chicago police must release video footage of a fatal police shooting within 60 days.
The video rules are part of series of reforms put in place after the police officers shot and killed 17-year-old Laquan McDonald in October 2014.
Video footage of McDonald's death, which contradicted with the official police account, was released in November. The video sparked protests and led to the dismissal of the police chief.
McDonald and O'Neal's deaths follows a long line of high-profile incidents involving African-Americans dying at the hands of the police, igniting a national debate about the use of lethal force.

Moment of death not shown

Police said O'Neal stole a car on 28 July, leading to a police chase.
The shooting starts after O'Neal rammed the car into a police cruiser as he tried to flee the scene.
A post-mortem exam found O'Neal had been killed by a gunshot wound to the back. The moment of death is not shown in the released footage.
Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the fatal shot was not recorded because an officer's body camera was not operating.
He said the officer may have been unfamiliar with how to use the camera or the camera malfunctioned.
"We don't believe there was any intentional misconduct with body cameras," Mr Guglielmi said.
Michael Oppenheimer, a lawyer for the O'Neal family, said the officers took "street justice into their own hands".
Three of the officers involved in the shooting have been suspended. A preliminary investigation found they had violated department policy.

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