A man was shot and seriously injured by a Chicago Police officer during a traffic stop in the Chatham neighborhood on the South Side Saturday night.
About 7:45 p.m. in the 7800 block of South King Drive, Gresham District officers pulled over a vehicle that had been reported stolen, according to a police statement.
As they walked up to it, the vehicle backed into another car and then accelerated toward the officers, police said.
The officers “were boxed in by the offender and traffic stopped at a red light” and feared the vehicle might be used as a weapon against them, police said.
One officer then fired two shots into the vehicle, striking the driver. He was taken to Stroger Hospital in serious-to-critical condition, fire officials said. His exact age wasn’t available.
A passenger in the vehicle had a loaded gun in his waistband, police said. He was arrested at the scene.
The Independent Police Review Authority is investigating, as it does all police-involved shootings, agency spokesman Larry Merritt said.