CHICAGO — Video recorded by a Chicago police officer’s body camera shows tense moments as he confronts a man who refused to comply with orders to put down a handgun he was holding. At one point during the April 24 encounter, the man even slapped away one of the officer’s outstretched hands while the cop’s other hand was pointing a pistol at him.
Prosecutors initially charged the man, Maurice Merritt, with multiple felonies. But, one month later, they dropped the entire case, records show.
Curiosity
A CWBChicago reporter came across Merritt’s arrest report during a routine check of recent court filings. Because the details sounded interesting. Everybody has seen horrible videos of people getting shot in similar situations, but the public doesn’t often see the countless times that armed confrontations end without injury. So, we requested the body camera records from CPD through a Freedom of Information request in May. CPD provided the videos on Tuesday.
According to the CPD report and the allegations prosecutors presented during a detention hearing on April 25, a woman flagged down a police officer and reported that Merritt had put a gun to her back as she walked in the 3300 block of West 16th Street with her 3-year-old in a stroller. She pointed toward Merritt, who was still nearby.
The cop’s body camera video shows what happened next:
Additional bodycam videos show Merritt complied with orders after additional cops showed up and pointed their guns at him, too.
While Merritt told the officer he was carrying a “fake a** gun,” cops wrote in his arrest report that they recovered a “.22 [caliber] revolver loaded with six (6) live rounds.”
Body camera footage showed several bullets lying next to the “fake a** gun.” Cops also recovered five .22 caliber bullets from Merritt’s right back pocket and three more from his coat pocket, according to his arrest report. In his shoulder bag, officers allegedly found packaged marijuana that prosecutors said was worth $1,400.
An officer who arrested Merritt recalled Merritt saying something to the effect of, “I carry that little thing for protection and I sell a little weed to make money.” He was on probation for felony possession of a controlled substance at the time of the arrest, officials said.
Charges dropped
In court the next day, prosecutors charged him with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, manufacture-delivery of cannabis, and aggravated battery of a peace officer.
They also asked Judge David Kelly to keep Merritt in custody pending trial. The judge agreed, writing that Merritt also had to be removed from his detention hearing because he “refused to comply” with Kelly’s orders.
When we checked on the status of Merritt’s case upon receiving CPD’s camera footage, we learned that prosecutors dropped all charges on May 24. So, what changed between April and May? We asked the County State’s Attorney’s Office that question on Wednesday. They did not reply.
