Just yesterday, we released a study that showed overwhelmingly that African Americans are three times as likely to be afraid of the police.
And today, we get another story of an unarmed, African American killed by cops.
On July 28, 18-year old Paul O’Neal was gunned down by Chicago cops after a chase that ended in a crash and O’Neal being shot and then handcuffed.
Today, the head of the police oversight board released the footage from the night — O’Neal’s family having seen the footage first.
CNN reports that the footage starts with a Chicago officer opening fire on a black Jaguar driving quickly down the street. After crashing, the driver runs from the vehicle and is pursued by the police. That’s when you hear more gun shots and this line “Get down! Hands behind your back! You shot at us mother—–!”
Soon, you see O’Neal, handcuffed, limp and bloodied as the officers curse at him.
And though CNN’s description of the video is vivid, the channel reports that the actual shooting isn’t recorded as “the officer’s body camera didn’t record the moment he opened fire. However, police say the officer who shot O’Neal in the back violated policy.”
The police say O’Neal led them on a chase as he was suspected of stealing the Jaguar. And though three officers have been “relieved of their police powers,” the family already filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against them.
TELL US: When you hear stories like this, do you feel less safe around the police?
