Police, protesters scuffle after officer fatally shoots man in South Shore
A crowd of protesters sparred with a group of Chicago police officers Saturday evening near the street where an officer fatally shot a man during a confrontation in South Shore.
The chaotic scene simmered for hours after the encounter, as dozens of people chanting “murderers” and “no justice, no peace” lingered in the neighborhood. Several officers were hurt by rocks and bottles hurled at them, and police said four demonstrators were arrested.
The shooting happened about 5:30 p.m. in the 2000 block of East 71st Street, according to police and Chicago Fire Department officials.
Officers saw “a man exhibiting characteristics of an armed person,” and a “confrontation” ensued when they tried to question him, Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi tweeted. An officer then opened fire.
The man, thought to be in his 30s, was pronounced dead at Jackson Park Hospital, CFD spokesman Larry Merritt said. No officers were hurt, and a weapon was recovered at the scene, according to Guglielmi.
People outside the crime scene after the shooting claimed a female officer shot the man, a neighborhood barber, at least five times in the back as he ran away, and that the officer was taken away from the scene in a police vehicle afterward as the crowd formed.
Dozens of officers were called to help control a tense scene as more than 100 people crowded around, chanting at police, “Who do you serve? Who do you protect?”
Tension boiled over about 7:30 p.m. as police tried to push protesters back, with officers hitting at least six people with batons and some protesters punching back. Police could be seen taking a few people into custody.
The scene cooled off for awhile until more people flooded the area about 8:30 p.m., with some throwing glass bottles at officers. At least three people were then taken into custody.
When police with batons entered a parking lot where protesters were gathered near the scene, scores of people scattered. Two officers shoved a Chicago Sun-Times reporter to the ground, smacking a cellphone out of his hand.
Gloria Rainge, 41, said the slain man went by the nickname “Snoop,” had a 5-year-old daughter and worked at a barbershop at 71st Street and Euclid Avenue.
Rainge said she was walking out of a nearby Walgreens when she saw the officer tell the man not to sell loose cigarettes. The man said he wasn’t, the argument escalated and the officer fired as he ran away, Rainge said.
“He was cool, laid back, very intelligent,” Rainge said.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability is investigating the use of force. Tips can be submitted at (312) 746-3609 or chicagocopa.org.