Crime & Law

Officer Involved in Dexter Reed Shooting Resigned CPD Job, Hired by Ohio Department

An officer who was part of the team that fired 96 times in 41 seconds in the fatal shooting of Dexter Reed resigned from the Chicago Police Department in late 2024 and accepted a job with an Ohio police department.

Alexandra Giampapa resigned Nov. 17, according to a Chicago Police Department spokesperson. The resignation was confirmed through records from the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board. Her exit was first reported by Unraveled, an independent Chicago newsroom.

The investigation into the shooting is ongoing, according to a spokesperson from the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, known as COPA. The officers involved in the shooting have not been charged with a crime.

Reed, a 26-year-old African American man, was shot and killed during a traffic stop on March 21. A preliminary investigation found Reed shot and wounded an officer and officers then opened fire, hitting Reed 13 times.

Andrew M. Stroth, the attorney representing Reed’s family in their civil rights lawsuit against the city, said Giampapa and the other three officers, who remain on administrative leave, should be held responsible for Reed’s death.

Reed’s family is disappointed that Giampapa’s decision to resign means she will not face discipline for her actions, Stroth said.

“This was not an isolated incident,” Stroth said. 

In October, WTTW News reported that COPA identified a troubling pattern of undocumented and aggressive stops on the city’s West Side at least one year before Reed’s death.

Tipp City, Ohio, Police Chief Greg Adkins said the city determined Giampapa would be an excellent addition to the department following an interview, an extensive background investigation and a review by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

“This was a critical incident that was traumatic for all involved,” Adkins said. “However, when an officer is involved in a critical incident, the action does not imply that they should not be a police officer again.”

The Facebook page for Tipp City announced the officer’s hiring Nov. 21. 

“I spent the last 5 years of my police career in Chicago, and when the decision was made to look elsewhere, I was really searching for a community and department that was supportive of first responders,” a statement by Giampapa read on Tipp City’s Facebook page. “I truly believe that I’ve found that here!”

Officers said they pulled Reed over near the border of Humboldt Park and Garfield Park for not wearing a seatbelt. The five officers were part of a tactical unit assigned to the 11th District. 

In a video published by COPA, a female officer approaching Reed’s white SUV can be heard repeatedly telling him to “roll the windows down” and asked “What are you doing?” before Reed began rolling the window back up.

The officer then tried to open the driver’s side door and removed her weapon from its holster while demanding that Reed unlock the vehicle.

“Open the door now, open the door now,” the officer yelled before backing away from the vehicle and pointing her firearm toward the driver’s side door.

Gunfire then breaks out and officers run from the vehicle. The female officer took cover behind a nearby tree and radioed in that shots had been fired, according to the video.

Dozens of shots can be heard on video and the female officer called for an ambulance, stating that an officer had been hit. Reed at this point could be seen lying face down and unresponsive on the pavement outside the vehicle.

In a separate video, a male officer standing in the street can be seen firing numerous shots into the driver’s side of the vehicle. The SUV then lurched forward slightly before Reed got out and was shot before collapsing to the ground. That officer fired multiple more times after Reed had already fallen to the ground, the video showed.

There is a civil rights lawsuit in the case that has been settled by the parties. The City Council is scheduled to consider the proposed settlement in February.

COPA Chief Administrator Andrea Kersten previously suggested the officers in the case should be relieved of their police powers but was rebuffed. 

Heather Cherone contributed. 

Contact Jared Rutecki: @JaredRutecki | [email protected]

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