SHOCKING video shows the moment a Chicago cop shot dead a 22-year-old man as he allegedly ran away brandishing a gun. Anthony Alvarez falls to the ground in the footage from the body camera worn by the officer who fired the fatal shots on March 31. The state’s independent police review board released the video […]
SHOCKING video shows the moment a Chicago cop shot dead a 22-year-old man as he allegedly ran away brandishing a gun.
Anthony Alvarez falls to the ground in the footage from the body camera worn by the officer who fired the fatal shots on March 31.
The state’s independent police review board released the video a day after letting Alvarez’s family see it.
But his relatives said it left them with “more questions than answers”.
The clip, posted on the Civilian Office of Police Accountability’s (COPA) website, shows police chasing Alvarez.
He reaches a residential street and the cop can be heard shouting: “Drop the gun! Drop the gun!”
Alvarez appears to drop the weapon as what sounds like five shots are fired.
He then falls to the ground and asks the cop: “Why are you shooting me?”
He replies: “You had a gun.”
Alvarez begins to try to roll over as a second officer is seen approaching with his gun drawn. Both order him to “get on the ground”.
The shaky video shows that Alvarez had his back to the officer when he opened fire.
Later, while they try to handcuff him, the second officer on the scene tells the one who fired his gun to stop so he can render aid.
He later points to Alvarez’s gun again, saying “the gun is right there”.
The cop then asks Alvarez to “stop moving” as he is “trying to help you”.
He repeats “stay with me” several times as he stands over Alvarez, while the other asks for help and checks “the ambulance is coming”.
Both officers cut Alvarez’s clothes as they try to save him.
COPA said in a statement that officers “attempted to stop and speak with Mr Anthony Alvarez – an individual familiar to the officers”.
They added that he fled as cops approached, leading to a foot pursuit.
COPA recommended the officer who fired the shots be relieved of police powers pending investigation, and he was placed on administrative duties for 30 days.
The family’s lawyer, Todd Pugh, said after they watched the video on Tuesday: “I saw a Chicago police officer shoot their son as he ran away from them.”
A family member translated the footage for Alvarez’s mother Veronica, who said: “I want more answers. The videos I saw don’t explain what I saw in the morgue.
“I want to know why they were running after him. To this day I have no answers.”
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has not named the officer who fired the fatal shots, but a police report that COPA posted along with the video identified him as 29-year-old Evan Solano – a six-year veteran of the force.
Police and city officials have not said why Alvarez was pursued, but Lightfoot referred to a traffic offence during a news conference on Wednesday.
And the head of the police union, John Catanzara, said in a statement before the video was released that the chase stemmed from an incident the day before in which Alvarez fled from police in a vehicle.
The officer who shot Alvarez spotted him the next day and chased him on foot.
Catanzara also predicted that there would be an outcry and spin over the shooting because Alvarez, whom he didn’t identify by name, was shot in the back.
There have since been protests in the city demanding justice for Alvarez.
Police said the incident took place at around 12.18am on March 31 in the 3500 block of North Laramie Avenue.
They said during the pursuit, the man – later identified as Alvarez – “produced a handgun which led to a confrontation” in the 5200 block of West Eddy Street and an officer opened fire, striking him.
The victim was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead, officials said.
