A police oversight agency has cleared a Chicago police officer who exchanged gunfire with car burglars who opened fire on him during a confrontation outside his West Lawn home last year, according to newly released records. Two juveniles were later arrested, but neither was charged with shooting at the off-duty cop.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability, COPA, concluded the off-duty officer acted within CPD policy when he fired a single shot after one of four people breaking into vehicles outside his home shot him in the ear during the April 28, 2025, encounter in the 3700 block of West 67th Place. The agency found the officer faced an “imminent threat of death or great bodily harm” and that his response was “objectively reasonable.”
According to COPA’s report, the officer had been asleep when his wife woke him after hearing noises outside about 4:18 a.m. Looking through a window, he saw several people breaking into vehicles parked directly in front of their home. He grabbed a handgun, told his wife to call 911, and went to the front door. When he stepped outside, he saw about four people burglarizing three vehicles: his Ford F150, his daughter’s Toyota RAV4, and a neighbor’s Ford Bronco, according to the report.
When he yelled at the group, COPA said, one of the burglars immediately raised a handgun and fired at him. The officer fired a single shot in response. As the burglars ran back to a waiting gray Nissan Maxima, at least one of them fired more shots before driving away, investigators found.
The officer went back inside his home and realized he had suffered a graze wound to his ear. Responding officers called for an ambulance, and he was taken to Christ Hospital for treatment. COPA said surveillance video corroborated the officer’s account, and investigators found no reason to doubt his credibility.
Later that day, police arrested two juveniles in suburban Riverdale in connection with the incident and recovered two guns during those arrests, according to COPA. Because both suspects are minors, Illinois law prohibits authorities from publicly releasing many details about their cases. One juvenile was charged with unlawful use of a weapon and criminal trespass to a vehicle. The other was charged with unlawful use of a weapon, aggravated possession of a stolen motor vehicle, and fleeing a police officer.
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