CHICAGO — The agency charged with investigating firearm use by Chicago police officers has released surveillance videos and other materials related to an incident in November when an off-duty cop exchanged shots with two gunmen in the Loop.
At about 3:46 a.m. on November 16, an off-duty officer called 911 to report that someone in a red Nissan had shot at her car when she came upon a robbery in progress at the corner of Polk and Federal, according to a CPD media statement. The department said the 25-year-old officer returned fire, but no injuries were reported.
COPA, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, confirms most of those details in a new statement based on its preliminary findings. However, the agency said the officer “observed individuals with firearms approaching a pedestrian,” but it does not say a robbery was in progress. Other individuals were robbed that morning while walking in the downtown area.
One of two videos released by COPA shows a person standing at a crosswalk as a vehicle pulls a U-turn and stops next to them in the street. Two figures bolt out of the car and confront the pedestrian. Exactly what happened cannot be seen because the video is blurred, likely to conceal the victim’s identity.
As the confrontation unfolds, the off-duty officer’s vehicle pulls to a stop, and both offenders duck low and quickly run back to their car as the pedestrian runs away in the opposite direction. Flashes can be seen coming from the muzzles of two firearms near the suspected robbers as the off-duty cop speeds away. However, the footage does not have an audio track.
Here is the video:
COPA also released the officer’s 911 call, during which she reported the incident. Six callers followed her, reporting shots fired in the area.
In a police report released with the video, an officer wrote that the officer and the robbery victim walked into the Central (1st) District police station moments after the incident. The man reported that he was on his phone when a red car pulled up with three occupants, two of whom exited and demanded his phone while displaying a gun.
He gave his phone to the men as the off-duty officer yelled at the robbers from her car and they responded by shooting at her.
Original reporting you’ll see nowhere else, paid for by our readers. Click here to support our work.
