Chicago Police Fatally Shoot Man With 'Dark Object'

Jan. 8, 2013
A teen who ran from South Chicago District officers after being stopped on suspicion of carjacking was fatally shot as he fled the stolen car when officers saw he had a "dark object" in his hand.

A teen who ran from South Chicago District officers after being stopped on suspicion of carjacking was fatally shot as he fled the stolen car when officers saw he had a "dark object" in his hand, police said.

The man or boy died after being to Northwestern Memorial Hospital following the shooting about 1:45 p.m. near 75th Street and Jeffery Boulevard, according to a a release from Chicago Police News Affairs. The teen, whose exact age was unavailable, was declared dead at Northwestern Memorial Hospital at 2:43 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

The Independent Police Review Authority confirmed a police-involved shooting took place about that time. No police officers were injured in the incident, an IPRA spokesman said.

Two South Chicago District tactical officers saw a grey Dodge Charger with Wisconsin plates heading west on 75 th Street a little before 1:45 p.m. and checked to see if the car was wanted in any crimes, Chicago Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 spokesman Patrick Camden. said. The driver appeared to be the only person in the car, and when the search turned up nothing, the officers let the car proceed in traffic without stopping it, Camden said.

Less than a minute later, however, a police radio broadcast alerted the officers to the Charger having been stolen not long before in an armed carjacking, Camden said.

The officers realized "that's the car!" and sped on to where the Charger was stopped in traffic, with vehicles in front and behind, Camden said. The officers got out of the car, one on each side, and told the driver they were police.

The driver raised his left hand, but appeared to be reaching for something in the passenger seat, then jumped out and ran, Camden said.

The officers chased the driver, who had a black object in his hand, until he turned toward them and appeared to be pointing the object at the officers, Camden said.

"Believing the dark object to be a firearm and being in fear for (his) life, the officer fired at the offender, wounding him," police News Affairs said in the release.

It was not immediately known what the object was, Camden said.

Copyright 2013 - Chicago Tribune

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

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