Dashcam/Bodycam Video From Fatal Police Shooting Of Paul O'Neal
PoliceActivity | 2016-08-05
Description
** (Disclaimer: This video content is intended for educational and informational purposes only) ** Paul O'Neal, 18, was shot in the back by police on July 28 during a stolen vehicle investigation on Chicago's South Shore, as he ran away from the responding officers. Videos from the scene show that O...
** (Disclaimer: This video content is intended for educational and informational purposes only) ** Paul O'Neal, 18, was shot in the back by police on July 28 during a stolen vehicle investigation on Chicago's South Shore, as he ran away from the responding officers. Videos from the scene show that O'Neal was placed in handcuffs after he was shot and 'left to die', his family said Friday after watching the footage, describing what happened as 'an execution' and 'cold-blooded murder'. None of the officers are seen rendering any aid to O'Neal as hey lay bleeding. Additionally, crucial coverage of the actual shooting was not included in the multiple videos released, with officials saying the body camera that captured the killing was not turned on at the time. 'We just watched a family watch the execution of their loving son. It is one of the most horrific things I have seen,' Michael Oppenheimer, the family's lawyer, said at a press conference after seeing the footage. Oppenheimer continued: 'These police officers decided to play judge, jury and executioner.' The release of the videos marks the first time the city have made public such material in a fatal police shooting under a new policy that calls for it to do so within 60 days. Three of the officers involved in the shooting were relieved of their police powers after O'Neal's death was ruled a homicide. He officially died of a gunshot to the back. Officers relieved of police powers must turn in their badges and cannot make arrests. The officers that appear in the video appear to be all white men, with one Hispanic. The videos do not show the moment O'Neal was shot. Oppenheimer described police not releasing footage of the actual shooting as 'a cover up'. Police said on Monday that the body camera that should have captured the shooting was 'not working' at the time. Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said an investigation is underway to determine why the equipment did not capture the killing of O'Neal. The officers in question received their body cams '8-10 days' prior, Guglielmi said. 'We don't believe there was any intentional misconduct with body cameras,' he said. However, in one of the videos, an officer is heard saying to three other officers about their body cameras: 'Make sure these are all off now.' O'Neal, from Chicago, was shot last Thursday night during a stolen vehicle investigation in the city's South Shore neighborhood. Authorities have said officers stopped a Jaguar convertible that had been reported stolen at the corner of 73rd Street and South Merrill Avenue. Police said officers opened fire after the driver, identified as O'Neal, put the car in drive and sideswiped a squad car and a parked vehicle. At least two officers are seen shooting at the car as it flees down the suburban street. The Jaguar then crashes and the driver - believed to be O'Neal - is seen fleeing the vehicle, running into a nearby yard. The president of the Chicago police officer's union lamented the release of video evidence, saying that it is unfair to the officers, could turn public opinion against them and even jeopardize their own safety. 'These guys live in the neighborhoods, their kids go to school, and their photos will be all over the Internet,' he said. 'It doesn't mean they did anything wrong but someone may see it and perceive the officers should not have taken the actions they did.' The policy of releasing the footage is part of an effort to restore public confidence in the department after video released last year showing a black teenager Laquan McDonald. McDonald, who was shot 16 times by a white officer, sparked protests and led to the ouster of the former police superintendent. The shooting of Laquan McDonald, and the initial statements by a union spokesman about McDonald lunging at police that turned out to contradict what was on the video, raised serious questions about what the public was being told about police shootings. Investigators from Chicago's Independent Police Review Authority, which investigates police misconduct cases and officer-involved shootings, arrived at the scene and obtained footage from cameras that the officers were wearing or were mounted on their squad cars. Donate to PoliceActivity: https://www.patreon.com/PoliceActivity Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PoliceActivity Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Police_Activity
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