Family questions release of Elk Grove police video
Elk Grove Village officials have released an edited mix of 911 calls and police body camera footage before and leading up to officers fatally shooting a 24-year-old man who had a knife.
Attorneys representing Jack Murray’s family questioned the release, calling the footage “selfmotivated.”
His family has maintained that Murray was in the midst of a diabetic episode Dec. 1 when police officers shot him near his home, and said he had called police several times previously when he felt his “health and wellness” were in danger.
Lawyers also said they had opened a civil investigation into the shooting.
The video contains graphic content.
The edited clip begins with a 911 call from Jack Murray. His speech is slurred, and several of his responses
to the dispatcher are inaudible.
Murray tells the dispatcher that someone at the residence has a knife, and that this person is “going to hurt someone.” When the dispatcher asks if that person is him, he mumbles inaudibly.
The call ends and the dispatcher calls back. Murray’s father answers. He asks his son several times if he’s OK and if he needs anything, but Murray’s answers can’t be heard.
“I don’t know what’s going on,” Murray’s father said on the call. “Jack, what’s wrong? Do you need help? It’s OK if you do.”
The dispatcher then asks Murray’s father to step out of the house with everyone except his son. He refuses, saying, “He’s not violent right now.” Murray later steps out of the house and his parents yell to police that he has a knife.
Later in the edited video, police body cameras show officers parking down the street. They say they are familiar with Murray. One officer directs others to prepare several nonlethal means — including stun guns, a bean bag rifle and a shield — along with at least one pistol.
Murray then limps down the block and raises a knife in the air, and the officers respond by deploying stun guns, though he continues toward them. About nine seconds later, at least five shots from two different guns can be heard as Murray drops to the ground and officers back away before handcuffing him and rendering medical assistance.
“It is our hope that providing more information about this incident will give everyone a better understanding of what took place and help in the process of healing,” said Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson at the start of the video.
Attorneys for the Murray family released a statement saying it showed a “partial” version of the events. They also criticized the fact that one officer never used the bean bag rifle he was armed with as a nonlethal means of stopping Murray from approaching officers.
“Rather than send medical aid or social services, [Elk Grove Village] dispatched the full force of their Police Department and the outcome of Jack’s death was inevitable,” the statement said.
The statement also criticized the short amount of time between officers deploying stun guns and shooting Murray.