Crime & Safety
Watch: Judge Releases Video Showing Police Shooting Teen in 2013
Family says video contradicts officer's statements that 17-year-old Cedrick Chatman was armed and pointing a dark object at cops.
Cedrick Chatman was 17 years old when he was gunned down in the street on the afternoon of Jan. 7, 2013, as police investigated a suspected carjacking near 75th Street and Jeffrey on the city’s South Side.
A Chicago police officer identified as Kevin Fry told investigators Chatman pointed a dark object toward officers as he ran, prompting the cop to fire his weapon.
Attorneys for the teen’s family, who have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city, say the videos contradict the officer’s statements. The family alleges in its lawsuit that Chatman was unarmed when he was shot and wants the videos to be made public.
The dark object later turned out to be a black iPhone box found near Chatman’s body.
Chicago Corporate Counsel Steve Patton announced Wednesday the city would not block the public release of the video. The city reversed its long-held policy to not release evidence related to disciplinary, criminal or judicial proceedings involving allegations of police misconduct.
DNAInfo published the first of several videos showing the 2013 police-involved shooting of Cedrick Chatman. Video was gathered from a police blue light camera, and surveillance cameras on South Shore High School and a business near 75th Street and Jeffrey.
The family’s attorneys say the cameras captured the shooting from five different angles.
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