Family of man fatally shot by CPD officer pushes for body cam footage
Chicago Police investigate in the 2200 block of South Kostner, where an officer fatally shot a person Saturday night, July 1, 2017. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) - The family of a man who was fatally shot by a Chicago Police officer Saturday night on the Southwest Side is pushing for the early release of officers’ body camera footage from the shooting.
The man was identified as 37-year-old Quintec Locke, according to Eric Russell, the executive director of the Tree of Life Justice League.
He was killed when two Ogden District officers responded about 10:45 p.m. to a call of shots fired in the 2200 block of South Kostner, Glen Brooks, community policing director for the Chicago Police Department, said during a press conference early Sunday.
The officers arrived and proceeded through a gangway leading to a backyard in the Lawndale neighborhood, where they found an armed male, police said.
An “armed confrontation” then ensued, Brooks said. One officer fired shots, striking Locke. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died at 12:26 a.m., police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. An autopsy Monday found he died of multiple gunshot wounds.
The medical examiner’s office provided a different spelling of Locke’s first name and said he was 36 years old.
One officer who was taken to an area hospital for evaluation had been treated and released early Sunday, police said.
CPD spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said there were bullet holes in nearby vehicles, but it was unclear if they were from Saturday night. An AK-47 and a handgun were recovered at the scene, police said.
The two officers were in uniform and wearing body cameras, Brooks said. They will be placed on routine administrative duties for a period of 30 days.
The Independent Police Review Authority is investigating the shooting. IPRA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Russell, whose organization is a non-profit that advocates for police accountability, said Locke’s family is consulting with lawyers, and wants the body-camera footage released sooner than the 60-day deadline mandated by IPRA.
“There are some witnesses that contradict the narrative that police put out,” Russell said.
A witness at the scene reported hearing at least 15 gunshots.
That witness, who asked not to be identified and has lived in the area for two and a half years, said he hears gunshots everyday.
“It’s like fireworks everyday, even when it’s not the Fourth of July,” he said.