Man charged after being shot by CPD officers in Englewood

A South Side man has been charged after Chicago Police officers shot him early Wednesday in Englewood when they say he pointed a gun at them.

Kenneth Lewis, 23, faces two counts of aggravated assault of a peace officer and another count of unlawful use of a weapon for the incident that started about 1:40 a.m. in the 5600 block of South Morgan, police said.

Two Englewood District officers in a squad car drove up to a large crowd in the middle of the street, police Deputy Chief Carlos Velez said after the shooting.

Lewis separated from the group and started to run away, reaching toward his waistband, police said. Authorities claim he then pulled out a weapon and pointed it at them, and both of the officers shot him repeatedly.

Officers recovered a weapon, Velez said. An officers’ union spokesman said Lewis’ condition stabilized at Stroger Hospital.

Lewis, of the 5500 block of South Peoria, was ordered held on a $1 million bond Friday, according to the Cook County sheriff’s office.

Friends of Lewis said gunfire wasn’t necessary when police pulled up on the block as they held a memorial gathering for a neighborhood barber who died three years ago. Chants of “No justice, no peace” broke out after the shooting among dozens of people whom police tried to push back from the crime scene.

As the block was cordoned off, police say 26-year-old Idella R. Hamilton pushed an officer and tried to destroy evidence on the street. Hamilton, of the 200 block of East 132nd Street, faces felony counts of aggravated battery to a peace officer and obstruction of justice. A judge on Friday ordered her held on a $75,000 bond, authorities said.

Kareen Noble, a 32-year-old friend of Lewis, said the man was running away when police fired between eight and 10 shots from no more than 15 feet away, striking Lewis at least twice in the leg and back.

“They shot him in the back. They didn’t give him a chance,” Noble said.

The Independent Police Review Authority is investigating.

Wednesday’s shooting was the fifth one involving Chicago Police in just over a month. A 41-year-old robbery suspect was shot by police Sunday and has since been charged. Two police involved shootings happened within 24 hours of each other from July 9-10, and a 23-year-old man was shot on June 20 in South Shore. Two of those people have died.