Newly released video shows intense moments as Chicago police officers confronted an armed man who had been restraining and physically attacking his girlfriend in Pullman. The nerve-wracking footage shows split-second decision-making by an officer who fatally shot the gunman, 43-year-old Devon Smith, an instant after the woman bolted out the bedroom door.
Officers responded to a domestic incident at the apartment in the 900 block of East 100th Street on the morning of March 20. One of the restrained woman’s children was waiting for the police outside the apartment complex.
The child informs the cops that Smith had a gun that he “had put it to my head and then my mom … he put it to her head. He kept hitting her with it.”
“He’s been to jail before for shooting at the police,” the child revealed.
After waiting for backup, officers entered the apartment.
Video shows the officers climbing stairs and approaching the bedroom door, which opens to reveal Smith holding a firearm and struggling with the woman.
In a flash, the woman bolts from the bedroom to get to safety, and, a fraction of a second later, an officer shoots and kills Smith.
This clip shows police climbing the stairs and shooting Smith. It is not graphic, but some people may find it disturbing.
COPA, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, released the footage and other investigative materials on Tuesday. In a press release, the agency, tasked with investigating shootings by CPD officers, said Smith “pointed a firearm in the direction of the officer” who shot him.
You can see all of the materials released by COPA at this link. The full video from which the above clip was taken is here (content advisory).
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