The probationary Chicago police officer who was shot while driving on the North Side last week, just days after being suspended for a positive drug test, is no longer a member of the city’s police force, according to CPD. Meanwhile, video has emerged of the shooting, which unfolded in the 3600 block of North Elston around 3:10 p.m. Tuesday, September 20.
During a press conference on Monday, CPD leadership declined to provide additional details about what led up to the shooting. But Rahman Muhammad, the deputy chief of detectives, said the woman, 27, had been released from the hospital.
The woman graduated from the city’s police academy on May 31 and began her probationary period. But CPD confirmed after the crash that she had been stripped of her police powers on September 17. A source said the action was taken after she tested positive for drugs. The Sun-Times first reported that she had left the department.
Investigators combed through surveillance footage after the shooting to track the gunman’s car before and after the incident. According to a source, they determined that the probationary cop and the other vehicle were involved in an extended conflict that culminated in the shooting after the cop slammed into the gunman’s car.
A surveillance video posted to Twitter by @ChicagoCritter yesterday showed the final moments of the confrontation and the probationary officer seeking help at a nearby business after suffering a gunshot wound to her face. The video is not graphic but may be disturbing to some viewers:
Didn’t realize how much I cropped out the video my apologies. pic.twitter.com/yQERlWCoET
— CHICAGO CRITTER (@ChicagoCritter) September 27, 2022
According to a Chicago Police Department crash report, the SUV driver hit the back of the off-duty cop’s 2023 Land Rover, which was stopped for a westbound red light on Addison at Kedzie. The SUV backed up, went around the cop’s car, then turned north on Elston. The officer followed, the report said.
After turning north on Elston, the SUV’s driver stopped, reversed into the cop’s car, and fled, the report said.
The SUV later collided with two CPD squad cars that were searching for the shooter in the 5000 block of West Lawrence, and one of the officers fired at the SUV, which escaped once more. Northeastern Illinois University police eventually found the car unoccupied in the 5800 block of North Drake, CPD said.
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