State police release video of fatal Harvey traffic stop

Days after a man was killed during a traffic stop in Harvey that authorities say happened as the man and a trooper struggled for control of a gun, Illinois State Police released dashcam video of the traffic stop.

Darren Green, a 30-yearold man from Harvey died as the result of a gunshot wound to the head, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Green had been in the passenger seat early Wednesday when the SUV he was riding in was pulled over by state police about 12:30 a.m. near 147th Street and Halsted Avenue, according to the state police. Green was taken to an area hospital with a gunshot wound to his head and he was pronounced dead about 4:30 a.m.

Officials previously said that a 21-year-old Chicago woman had been driving without her headlights on and a few minutes into the stop the trooper asked her to step out of the vehicle. After she exited, a man in the front passenger seat began tomove over into the driver’s seat, at which time the trooper stationed by the driver’s side noticed a weapon in his waist band, authorities said.

The video, which was released on Sunday, does not show what happened inside the vehicle, as it is stationary dashcam video from the troopers’ vehicle, parked behind the SUV. But shortly after the driver is asked to step out of the SUV, the trooper on the driver’s side asks a second trooper on the passenger side to ask the man in front to also step out of the SUV.

“Hey, gun, gun,” the first trooper yells. Both troopers yell, “Don’t move.” The trooper on the driver’s side checks the woman, who is standing behind him, seemingly to ensure she isn’t a threat, as the driver’s side door closes. That trooper then reopens the door.

At first, the trooper on the passenger side reaches in through the window, then he gets the door open. One of the troopers calls for “emergency assistance.” The vehicle’s brake lights come on as though it has been put in gear.

While the three men are struggling in the front of the vehicle, a 29- year- old Dolton woman in the back seat opens the rear driver’s side door to exit, then reaches back into the vehicle and quickly grabs an 8-year-old girl, pulling her out, according to the video and a statement that state police issued Thursday.

The child is just barely visible as she says what sounds like, “I’m scared, Mommy.” In the second it takes for the woman to pull her into view, the vehicle lunges forward, moving before the child’s feet even touch the ground. The trooper on the passenger side, who has been with the agency for 11 months, appears to be partially dragged and partially pulled while hanging onto the open passenger door for a distance that appears to be no more than 20 feet or so, when the SUV slams into a bus shelter and comes to a stop.

From the time the troopers first said “gun,” only 20 seconds had elapsed before the vehicle crashes. The two women and the child are still standing in the street looking toward the SUV, now up on the curb.

The trooper on the passenger side quickly gets to his feet and moves around to the driver’s side. Before he makes it there, the sound of a gunshot can be heard and the women and child run to the passenger side of the police vehicle and out of view. The trooper who had just made it to the driver’s side then stands back and draws his weapon, seemingly unsure whether the man in the vehicle fired at his partner. Only about five seconds elapsed between the time the child is pulled from the SUV and when the gunshot is heard. State police previously explained that the gun went off while a trooper was struggling with the man for control ther trooper of the fired weapon. his serv- Neiiceweapon, officials said. The trooper who had been on the driver’s side throughout the stop has been with state police for 11 years, according to the police statement. He did not appear injured, but the statement said he also was dragged by the moving vehi-cle. “Shots fired, shots fired, shots fired,” one trooper yells. He requested an ambulance and additional units from surrounding areas before checking on the trooper who seemed to collide with the bus shelter in the crash.

He asks the second trooper again later if he is OK, to which the man responds, “Yeah, I’m — I don’t know.” Much later he says he hurt his shoulder and is bleeding from his head.

The first trooper stays with Green until an ambulance arrives, telling him repeatedly to keep breathing.

“Stay with us, stay with us,” a third lawenforcement officer says once backup arrives.

The shooting remains under investigation by special agents with the Division of Internal Investigation, state police said. It is not known whether additional video was taken and if so, whether it will be released.

The agency said Green did not have a valid firearm owner’s identification or a concealed carry license.