Cop who shot Harith Augustus laments in video, ‘Why did he have to pull a gun?’

SHARE Cop who shot Harith Augustus laments in video, ‘Why did he have to pull a gun?’

Immediately after Chicago police shot and killed Harith Augustus in South Shore last month, the officer who fired the shots lamented, “Why did he have to pull a gun out on us?”

The officer, identified Thursday as Dillan Halley, later tells a colleague that he “had to” fire at Augustus — who can be seen reaching for a gun holstered to his body during the confrontation with police.

“He was going to shoot us,” Halley says.

The comments by the officer were made public Thursday after the Civilian Office of Police Accountability released 18 video clips and two audio clips from the July 14th confrontation, including video from Halley’s bodycam and nearby surveillance video. No audio was released from the officers’ confrontation with Augustus before the shooting.

The videos shows a quickly escalating sequence of events after Augustus walks past officers standing in the 2000 block of East 71st Street. The officers start to follow him. He appears to show an ID to one officer before another tries to grab him as Augustus pulls away, pivots toward the street while apparently reaching for the holstered gun.

Halley then opened fire, killing the 37-year-old Augustus. It all happened in about 30 seconds. After the shooting, you can hear Halley wrongly say that Augustus fired at police.

He addresses the sergeant on scene.

“He pulled a gun on me,” the officer says.

Halley discusses the confrontation with another officer, identified as Megan Fleming, who tells him “you’re good” and tells him to breathe in through his nose and out his mouth.

She assures him that police recovered a gun. Police said several magazines of ammunition were also found.

Fleming also expresses frustration saying, “I feel like I wasn’t there for you. I was trying to grab him.”

Halley, who along with Fleming was identified in reports released by COPA Thursday, had been with the police force since last year and had completed field training but was still considered probationary, officials said.

An audio recording released of a woman’s call to 911 says she heard six shots fired.

LISTEN: The 911 call from a resident who reported hearing shots fired on July 14, 2018. “I heard about six shots. People are running.” 

LISTEN: Emergency personnel talk with police on scene of Harith Augustus police-involved shooting on July 14, 2018. “We got shots fired by the police … We are stopping Metra ….”

The video doesn’t appear to show the officers rendering any aid to Augustus after he was shot, though one appears to touch him, possibly taking his pulse before taking Augustus’ gun out of its holster. Augustus was taken to Jackson Park Hospital and pronounced dead about 20 minutes later.

An autopsy found he died of multiple gunshot wounds, and his death was ruled a homicide.

Augustus had a valid FOID card but no concealed carry permit, police said. He wasn’t a documented gang member and had no recent arrest history, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.

He lived in the South Shore neighborhood less than a mile from where he was killed. Those who knew the barber called him quiet, respectful and family oriented.

Augustus’ death spurred a week of protests in South Shore and outside of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s North Side home.

A family attorney could not be reached for comment Thursday on the video release.

Chicago Police already had released one edited video of the shooting but there was no audio. The release of the additional video, 32 days after the shooting, had been announced earlier Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court by Amber Ritter, who represents the police department in a case brought against it by activist William Calloway. Calloway filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act for all unedited footage related to the shooting.

Calloway said it was important to get the video released because the shooting happened in his community.

“It’s very sensitive for me because that’s where I’m from, and it also speaks to the culture that’s still happening at the Chicago Police Department when it comes to their interactions with black and brown communities,” he said.

Matt Topic, who represents Calloway in the suit, said such videos should be released more quickly — the department currently has 60 days to make videos from police-involved shootings public.

Guglielmi said police will “continue to cooperate fully with the investigation.”

No officers were hurt in the confrontation. All of those involved in the incident remain on regular duty because the department has not received any requests from the police accountability office to suspend anyone, Guglielmi said.

Surveillance video: Augustus shooting

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Edited video released by Chicago police the day after the shooting of Harith Augustus, showing him with a weapon. 

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