OAK PARK, Ill. — The Village of Oak Park released body camera footage showing a fatal officer-involved shooting of a man who wrestled with an officer over a firearm during a traffic stop.
The May 31 incident began when an Oak Park Police officer initiated a traffic stop. Body camera footage shows the officer pulling the man over at a gas station and advising him that he had used his turn signals improperly when changing lanes.
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The man verbally protested the stop as he searched and provided his license and insurance information. The officer then instructed the man to get out of the car after smelling and seeing an alcoholic drink in the cup holder.
The officer then began to search the man for weapons. As the officer patted him down, the man appeared to put up physical resistance.
“Do not reach for that f***ing gun or you’re going to get shot!” the officer can be heard saying.
Dash camera footage more clearly shows the altercation. The officer and the subject can be seen grabbing for an object in the subject’s hand.
The officer calls for backup, reporting that the man had a gun. Video shows the man continuing to resist as the officer brings him to the ground repeatedly.
The man then appears to break free from the officer with the object. He runs in front of his vehicle before nine shots rang out. The officer fired a shot while the subject stood nearby. The subject then ran, and the officer fired additional shots.
A second officer’s bodycam shows her arriving at the scene with the subject on the ground and the shooting officer beginning to render aid. A gun can be seen lying on the ground next to the man.
The suspect was struck four times and was transported to the hospital where he later died, the Chicago Sun Times reported. The officer was also hospitalized for an injury he sustained during the incident. He remains on medical leave.
