Crime & Law
COPA Publishes Body Cam Video of Chicago Police Shooting That Left 1 Dead, 1 Injured After Altercation in South Austin
Body camera footage shows officers the moments before Tracey Watson was fatally shot by Chicago police officers following an altercation with a second man on May 27, 2024. (Civilian Office of Police Accountability)
New video released Tuesday shows Chicago police fatally shooting a man as he appeared to try and stab another man in the middle of a South Austin neighborhood street earlier this year.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability on Tuesday released videos showing the fatal May 27 shooting of Tracey Watson, who was killed in the middle of the 300 block of South Cicero Avenue during an altercation with a second man.
According to a preliminary statement from the CPD shortly after the shooting, officers were on routine patrol at around 11:10 p.m. when they saw Watson attempting to stab another man in the street.
COPA in a statement Tuesday said the incident began when two officers were flagged down and saw a man attacking another individual with an “unknown weapon.”
“The officers exited their vehicle and gave verbal commands to the individual to drop their weapon,” COPA said in a statement. “The individual failed to comply with the officers’ commands, resulting in both officers discharging their firearms, striking both the individual and victim.”
Watson’s family has reportedly claimed he was acting in self-defense, telling ABC-7 that he and two cousins were attacked before the shooting
Video: The Civilian Office of Police Accountability released video footage from multiple officers’ body-worn cameras. WARNING: Graphic content.
Body camera videos from the two officers who opened fire show Watson ignoring police commands to “put the gun down” as he repeatedly lunged at the second man, who was on the ground.
One officer then fired two shots before a second officer fired a second volley of around 10 shots and Watson collapsed to the ground. Watson was killed in the shooting, while the second man was hospitalized in critical condition, according to police.
As another officer calls for an ambulance, a man who claimed to be Watson’s cousin told police “You coulda tased him bro.”
“Why didn’t you tase him, bro,” he asked.
After numerous other officers and squad vehicles appeared on scene, one of the officers who fired shots told others Watson had “a knife that he was stabbing the other guy with.” It was not immediately clear if that weapon was recovered.
The video appears to show officers applying tourniquets to both Watson and the other man and attempting life-saving measures as they laid in the middle of the street. One of the officers who opened fire then kneeled down beside the second man, who was unresponsive, and repeatedly told him to “stay with us.”
COPA asks that anyone who may have additional information or video of the incident contact its office at 312-746-3609 or at ChicagoCOPA.org.
