On Wednesday, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office announced that it will not pursue criminal charges against any of the Chicago police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Dexter Reed during a traffic stop last year. The office said it presented the findings of its investigation to a state panel, which subsequently concurred with the decision.
The CCSAO also released the following memorandum explaining its decision. We are publishing it here in full:
POLICE INVOLVED DEATH DECISION MEMORANDUM
DECEDENT: DEXTER REED
I. OVERVIEW
On March 21, 2024, Dexter Reed was fatally shot by Chicago Police Officers Thomas Spanos, Alexandra Giampapa, Victor Pacheco and Aubrey Webb. Investigators from several agencies including the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA), the Chicago Police Department’s Investigative Response Team (IRT), and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office (CCSAO) Bureau of Investigations subsequently interviewed law enforcement witnesses, civilian witnesses, fire department personnel, reviewed radio transmissions, photographs of the scene, police reports, medical records, the Cook County Medical Examiner Post-Mortem Report, Toxicology Report, Illinois State Police Crime Lab Reports, Body-Worn Camera (BWC) footage and video surveillance footage.
The CCSAO as the agency responsible for making criminal charging decisions under Illinois law for incidents that occur in Cook County, reviewed the evidence collected during the investigation to determine whether there was a good faith basis for filing criminal charges. After a thorough review, the CCSAO has concluded that the evidence is insufficient to support criminal charges against these officers.
Pursuant to policies and enacted legislation, the CCSAO referred the case to the Office of the Illinois State’s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor (ILSAAP) for an additional independent review. ILSAAP reviewed the case and concurred that the evidence did not support criminal charges against any officer.
II. LEGAL STANDARD
In making any charging decision, the CCSAO is bound by the Illinois Criminal Code in effect at the time of the incident. The analysis and charging decision regarding this matter are governed by 720 ILCS 5/7-5(a) which states in part that:
[A peace officer] is justified in using force likely to cause death or great bodily harm only when: (i) he reasonably believes, based on the totality of the circumstances, that such force is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or such other person…
In pertinent part, Section 7/5 further mandates:
(f) The decision by a peace officer to use force shall be evaluated from the perspective of a reasonable officer in the same situation, based on the totality of the circumstances known to or perceived by the officer at the time of the decision, rather than with the benefit of hindsight, and that the totality of the circumstances shall account for occasions when officers may be forced to make quick judgments about using force.
Additionally, in assessing the reasonableness of a police officer’s use of deadly force, the United States Supreme Court has held that “the reasonableness of a particular use of force must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than with 20/20 vision of hindsight.” Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 396 (1989). Accordingly, in assessing the evidence in this incident, the CCSAO’s analysis regarding whether the actions of Officers Spanos, Giampapa, Pacheco and Webb were reasonable requires consideration of the totality of the circumstances available to the officers on the scene as the incident was unfolding.
III. STATEMENT OF FACTS
On March 21, 2024, at approximately 6:00 pm, Dexter Reed was the sole occupant and driver of a white SUV in the vicinity of Hamlin and Avers in Chicago, Illinois. Five Chicago Police Officers assigned to an 11th District Tactical Unit were riding in an unmarked police vehicle wearing plain clothes and clearly marked police vests. The officers, including Officer Aubrey Webb (driver), Officer Gregory Saint Louis (front passenger), Officer Alexandra Giampapa (right rear), Officer Victor Pacheco (rear middle) and Officer Thomas Spanos (left rear) performed a traffic stop of Reed’s vehicle at Ferdinand and Avers. After Reed failed to comply with the officers’ verbal commands, the situation escalated and Reed fired several shots through his passenger window, hitting Officer Saint Louis in the wrist. The other four officers returned fire as Reed fired additional shots at the officers. Reed then exited his vehicle and moved toward the rear bumper of his vehicle. Officers continued to shoot, unable to determine whether Reed was still armed. Reed fell to the ground behind his vehicle. The officers fired a total of 96 shots and Reed fired approximately 11 shots. Reed sustained 13 gunshot wounds.
Officers provided medical attention to Reed until Chicago Fire Department personnel arrived and took over treatment. Reed was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Reed’s firearm was recovered in slide-lock position from the front passenger seat of Reed’s vehicle. Eleven fired cartridge cases were also recovered from Reed’s vehicle. Forensic examinations revealed those fired cartridge cases were fired by Reed’s firearm. Additionally, a forensic examination of the bullet recovered from Officer Saint Louis’ arm established that it was fired by Reed’s firearm. Bullets and fragments were recovered from the scene and submitted to the Illinois State Police Forensic Laboratory which established that a bullet recovered from the street, in the direction of where the shooting officers stood, matched Reed’s firearm.
On March 22, 2024, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office performed a postmortem examination on Dexter Reed and determined the cause of death to be multiple gunshot wounds and the manner of his death to be homicide (death caused by another). Of the 13 gunshot wounds sustained by Reed, seven had corresponding exit wounds. A total of seven projectiles were recovered from Reed’s body during the examination and were subsequently found suitable for identification by the Illinois State Police Crime Laboratory. Four bullets were identified as having been discharged from Officer Spanos’ weapon and two bullets were identified as having been discharged from Officer Pacheco’s weapon. The remaining bullet was from an unrelated incident that occurred in 2021 during which Reed sustained multiple gunshot wounds.
Additional forensic testing performed at the Illinois State Police lab revealed that swabs taken from Reed’s hands were positive for gunshot residue. Further, DNA testing performed on swabs taken from the firearm recovered in Reed’s vehicle were consistent with Reed’s DNA profile.
Portions of this incident were recorded on body worn cameras as well as third party video surveillance cameras. The video footage sets forth a timeline indicating that the interaction between Reed and the officers took place within approximately 71 seconds. Within 30 seconds of the officers approaching Reed’s vehicle, Reed fired the first shots which struck Officer Saint Louis. During the next 11 seconds, the officers exchanged fire with Reed. There was then an 8 second pause after which Reed fired again and a second exchange of fire with the officers occurred. After approximately 16 seconds of that gunfire exchange, Reed exited his vehicle, walked toward the back of his vehicle and fell to the ground. Officer Pacheco ceased firing within 1 second of Reed falling, Officer Giampapa ceased firing within 3 seconds, and Officer Spanos ceased firing within 6 seconds.
IV. ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION
A criminal prosecution for either first- or second-degree murder would require proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the involved officers were not legally justified in using deadly force against Dexter Reed. In other words, a judge or a jury would need to conclude that the officers did not reasonably believe that they or others were in imminent danger of great bodily harm or death. In this case, however, the evidence established that Reed was armed with a firearm which he used to fire at, strike, and injure Officer Saint Louis before firing in the direction of other officers. Accordingly, based on the evidence reviewed in this matter and the applicable legal standard, the evidence is insufficient to support a finding beyond a reasonable doubt that Chicago Police Officers Thomas Spanos, Alexandra Giampapa, Victor Pacheco and Aubrey Webb were not legally justified in using deadly force against Reed.
The evidence has established that Dexter Reed fired the first shots toward the passenger side of his vehicle striking Officer Saint Louis. The four officers responded by firing their weapons at Reed. After 11 seconds, the officers stopped firing, resulting in an 8 second pause. That pause ended with a second round of gunshots during which Reed fired again. Video footage showed a plume of smoke coming from the driver’s side of Reed’s vehicle and a second exchange of gunfire between Reed and the officers. Forensic testing confirmed that 11 fired cartridge cases recovered from the scene were fired from Reed’s weapon which was found empty in the slide-lock position. Additionally, the bullet recovered from Officer Saint Louis’ arm was fired from Reed’s weapon. Further, a bullet and bullet fragments were recovered from the street where the officers stood during the gunfire exchange. The bullet was forensically examined and found to have come from Reed’s firearm. This confirms that Reed not only fired toward the passenger side of his vehicle at Officer Saint Louis, but also out of the driver’s side which is the direction where that fired bullet was recovered.
Within approximately 10 seconds of the second volley of gunfire, Reed exited his vehicle, and his weapon was left inside the vehicle. Therefore, Reed was unarmed during the approximate 10 seconds from when he exited the vehicle and the shooting stopped. However, as the video footage reflects, when Reed exited his vehicle, he did not raise his hands or appear to surrender. Rather, he was in a crouching position with his hands not visible to the officers as he moved to the rear of his vehicle. These are circumstances to consider when examining the reasonableness of the officers’ beliefs as to whether Reed presented an imminent danger of great bodily harm or death to the officers.
Furthermore, in evaluating the decision to use force likely to cause death, the decision shall be viewed from the perspective of a reasonable officer in the same situation, based on the totality of the circumstances known to or perceived by the officers at the time of the decision.
An examination of the totality of these circumstances reveals that it was reasonable for the officers to believe they were in imminent danger of great bodily harm or death after Reed shot Officer Saint Louis and continued shooting at the officers who returned fire. After Reed fired additional shots at the officers, the officers were reasonable in their belief that Reed continued to be a deadly threat. Although it was later learned that Reed was no longer armed after he exited the vehicle, it was not unreasonable for the officers to believe that Reed was still armed when he exited and appeared to be attempting to flee and the officers continued to be in imminent danger of great bodily harm or death.
Based on the evidence reviewed in this matter and the applicable legal standards, the evidence is insufficient to support the filing of criminal charges for the use of deadly force by Chicago Police Officers Thomas Spanos, Alexandra Giampapa, Victor Pacheco and Aubrey Webb. Therefore, the CCSAO will not pursue criminal charges in this case.
Pursuant to policies and enacted legislation, the CCSAO referred the review of the case to the Office of the Illinois State’s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor (ILSAAP) for an additional independent review. ILSAAP reviewed the case and on July 7, 2025, concurred that no criminal charges are appropriate.
This conclusion is based entirely on the relevant criminal laws and standards of proof in Illinois and does not limit administrative action by the Chicago Police Department or civil actions where less stringent laws, rules, and legal standards of proof apply. The CCSAO expresses no opinion regarding the propriety or likelihood of success of any such actions.
