All five officers who stopped Dexter Reed near the border of Humboldt Park and Garfield Park remain on paid administrative leave and have not returned to active duty after completing a mandatory 30-day stint after the shooting, as required by department rules, a department spokesperson told WTTW News.
A Safer City
A WTTW News reporting initiative diving deep into neighborhood crime, violence and public safety as residents, policymakers and community groups work to address the growing issue.
Community organizations are on a mission to empower Chicago’s youth through anti-violence programs in neighborhoods across the city.
In the latest in our “A Safer City” series, we meet teens working to change the narrative around gun violence and hear from local organizations empowering youth.
People can spend hours scrolling through social media. An organization called Project Unloaded is helping teens educate their peers on the risks of owning a gun by empowering youth to become social media influencers for change.
According to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the average age for Chicagoans to witness a shooting is 14. Research also shows that exposure to violence can lead to long-lasting mental health issues.
Chicago police Officer Luis M. Huesca, who was fatally shot as he returned to his Gage Park home following his shift early Sunday, was among three people killed by gunfire across Chicago over the weekend.
The five officers who conducted the traffic stop that led to the death of Dexter Reed and the wounding of one officer had been the subject of 36 complaints that they were improperly stopping Chicagoans driving through the city’s West Side, according to records provided to WTTW News by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.
According to the Chicago Police Department, 48 people were shot in separate incidents between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday, marking one of the most violent weekends in the city thus far this year.
Superintendent Larry Snelling’s remarks come nearly two months after the first sign of deep tension between CPD and COPA emerged, and reflect a widening breach between the two agencies, sources told WTTW News.
“These robberies have created trauma for the victims and fear in our communities,” Superintendent Larry Snelling said. “We want everyone in this city to not only feel safe, but to actually be safe.”
The footage of Chicago police officers firing 96 shots at Dexter Reed following a traffic stop has caused outrage with the city’s Black community and led to demands for change — and accountability — for the police officers involved.
The rules that govern when — and how — Chicago police officers can use force against members of the public are complicated and subject to interpretation, despite years of efforts to make it less likely that an altercation between an officer and a Chicagoan turns deadly. Those rules face new scrutiny after officers shot and killed Dexter Reed on March 21.
COPA calls for officers to be relieved of police powers during investigation
COPA in a statement said preliminary evidence “appears to confirm” that Reed fired first before officers responded by firing 96 shots in a matter 41 seconds. The agency has recommended to CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling that four of the officers involved be relieved of their police powers during the pendency of this investigation.
Chief Administrator Andrea Kersten wrote in a letter to Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling that her agency has “grave concerns about the officers’ ability to assess what is a necessary, reasonable, and proportional use of deadly force.”
According to the Chicago Police Department, 23 people were shot between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday.
A federal judge is set to decide whether to force changes to CPD’s proposed mass arrest policy as the city prepares for the Democratic National Convention from Aug. 19-24.
