By Suzie Ziegler
CHICAGO — New bodycam video of a Chicago police shooting shows a suspect shooting at officers from the backseat of a patrol car. The incident happened in 2020 outside a Chicago police station after officers arrested a wanted carjacking suspect, ABC 7 Chicago reported. Police said they searched Lovelle Jordan but missed a handgun in his pants, WKBN reported.
Video shows an officer opening the cruiser’s door to move Jordan to a holding cell. Jordan pulls a gun and fires at the officer at point-blank range. The officer is knocked down, then gets back up to return fire. Multiple shots can be heard in the video.
According to ABC 7, Jordan managed to move his handcuffed hands from behind his back to his front to grab the gun. More bodycam video from the incident shows officers asking Jordan if he has any weapons on him. Officers did find a cellphone and drugs, according to WKBN.
The incident left some wondering how officers could have missed Jordan’s gun during the search. Sean Larkin, a former police officer and NewsNation contributor, said the officer made a mistake, but the suspect chose to shoot.
“When you do a search incident to arrest like this, it’s more invasive than a pat down search. You can do a much more thorough search. So yes, it was missed,” Larkin said in a NewsNation interview this week. “But this thing happened because a suspect chose to shoot a police officer.”
The gunfight left Jordan paralyzed and three officers wounded, WKBN reported. Two officers suffered minor injuries, but a third officer was shot in the neck and shoulder. The extent of the third officer’s injuries weren’t immediately available.
In April, Jordan died by suicide shortly after he was sentenced to 31 years in prison for attempted murder, according to CBS News.