Chicago police on Friday released video that shows the moments right before they fatally shot an unarmed black teen last week.
Paul O’Neal, 18, was shot in the back while fleeing from officers last Thursday night after allegedly stealing a Jaguar in the Chicago suburb of Bolingbrook.
Warning: The following video and its description may be disturbing to some readers.
Body camera footage released Friday shows an officer firing rounds into the vehicle as it swiped cop cars. Officers can be seen then giving chase to O’Neal on foot. The teen hopped a fence into a residential back yard, where he was shot multiple times in the back. Police said the officer who killed O’Neal did not have a working body camera, according to ABC 7.
“Bitch-ass motherfucker,” an officer can be heard saying as he delivers a kick to O’Neal, who lies motionless on the ground. Other officers yell at the teen to put his hands behind his back.
“They shot at us too, right?” an officer can be heard asking. O’Neal did not have a gun on him.
At one point, the officer who fired shots at the vehicle can be heard complaining about going on a mandatory 30-day suspension. “Fucking desk duty for 30 days now,” he can be heard saying. “Motherfucker.”
The Chicago Police Department will investigate the incident, CPD Superintendent Eddie Johnson said in a statement.
“I applaud the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA) and Chief Administrator Sharon Fairley for being so transparent and open with the video release and I want to pledge the full cooperation of the Chicago Police Department during this investigation,” the statement said. “The shooting of Mr. O’Neal has raised a lot of questions about whether departmental policies were followed. While IPRA conducts a thorough investigation, we will not wait to look for ways we can learn from this incident.”
O’Neal’s family has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the officers, according to CNN.