Chicago police fatally shot a man in Arcadia Terrace late Tuesday after he dragged an officer while trying to flee in a stolen vehicle that investigators had been watching, according to CPD. The department said the officer who was dragged suffered minor injuries.
A tactical team from the Lincoln (20th) District was watching a stolen BMW in the 5700 block of North Washtenaw Avenue when a second car pulled alongside the stolen vehicle around 10:25 p.m., according to a preliminary statement from CPD.
According to CPD, two men got out of the arriving sedan and moved toward the stolen BMW. Tactical officers moved in to investigate. One of the men returned to the driver’s seat of the sedan, and officers ordered him to get out, but he refused and struggled with them, CPD said.
During the struggle, the man allegedly accelerated the car with an officer still partly inside. Police said the officer fired a single shot, striking the driver, and the vehicle then collided with an unoccupied parked car. The officers pulled the man from the seat and began medical treatment until Chicago Fire Department crews arrived, CPD said. He was taken to Illinois Masonic Hospital and pronounced dead. His identity has not been released.
The second man who exited the car ran from the scene, heading north on Washtenaw, according to a witness. He was described as a Hispanic man about 5’10” tall, wearing black clothing. A woman who arrived with the two men was taken in for questioning.
Officers at the scene said they recovered two firearms, including one equipped with an automatic fire switch, as well as a car key programming device that car thieves use to clone vehicle fobs.
CPD said the Investigative Response Team is handling the department’s internal investigation while the Civilian Office of Police Accountability has opened an independent review. The officer who fired the shot will be placed on administrative duties for at least 30 days, per standard protocol.
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