Chicago Cop Should Be Fired Over 2011 Fatal Shooting: Police Disciplinary Agency

CHICAGO, IL — The city's police disciplinary board recommended the firing of a 10-year veteran Chicago police officer for allegedly lying on the stand about the fatal shooting of Darius Pinex during January of 2011 traffic stop, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The Independent Police Review Authority made public Thursday its 34-page report investigating the shooting involving Raoul Mosqueda, who is now a training officer, the report stated. The report concluded that Mosqueda lied on three occasions, and it ruled that the stop that led to the shooting was legally unjustified based on discrepancies between the officer's version of events and police dispatch recordings, the report added.

Although the report does not ask for Mosqueda's firing, an IPRA spokeswoman told the Tribune that the board has recommended that action. Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie John has 90 days to act on the IPRA's recommendation, the report added.

RELATED: Amtrak Cop Shoots 25-Year-Old Man Near Union Station: Chicago Police

The focus of the IPRA's report was a January 2011 shooting that involved Mosqueda and his then-partner, Gildardo Sierra, the report stated. The two officers were accused of pulling over and boxing in Pinex — a man with previous drug arrests — then drawing their guns on him, the report added.

Pinex tried to escape, pulling his car in reverse and hitting a pole before accelerating forward, the report stated. Mosqueda and Sierra opened fire, but it was a shot fired by Mosqueda that struck Pinex in the head, killing him, the report added.

A gun was recovered from underneath Pinex's driver's seat, and Mosqueda said he made the traffic stop after police dispatch reported it was involved in an earlier shooting. But the dispatch recordings that were revealed during a trial over a lawsuit filed against the city by Pinex's family disputed the officer's explanation. In December, the city settled the lawsuit for an estimated $3.5 million.

The IPRA's report did not give a recommendation for Sierra because he resigned in 2015, the Tribune reports. The 2011 Pinex shooting was the second fatal shooting involving Sierra in less than six months that year, and the police authority panel ruled in 2016 — after Sierra had left the department — that the previous shooting was unjustified, the report added.

More via the Chicago Tribune

photo via Patch archive

Like What You're Reading? Stay Patched In!

• Like our Crime page on Facebook
• Live Traffic and Transit Updates