2 Chicago cops ‘relieved of police powers’ after fatal shooting

Two Chicago Police officers have been “relieved of their police powers” after the fatal shooting an 18-year-old man who sped away from a traffic stop Thursday night, police said.

“CPD investigators determined [three] officers discharged their weapons … given what is known thus far, it appears that departmental policies may have been violated by at least [two] of the police officers,” police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in an email Friday.

Those two “have been relieved of their police powers and will be assigned to administrative positions” pending the outcome of an investigation by the Independent Police Review Authority and an internal administrative review, he added.

The shooting happened about 7:30 p.m. in the 7400 block of South Merrill, where officers tried to pull over a Jaguar convertible reported stolen earlier that day, Guglielmi said.

The Jaguar was blocked in, but the officers opened fire when the driver tried to take off. He crashed into a parked vehicle, Guglielmi said.

The driver died later at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. He was identified as Paul O’Neal, 18, of the 1700 block of East 70th Street.

Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson “spent most of this afternoon with top advisors and command staff reviewing the preliminary information,” Guglielmi said Friday. The officers involved were wearing body cameras, and the police vehicles at the scene had their cameras activated, he said.