Video shows Cook County sheriff’s police shooting armed man running from SW Side traffic stop

The Cook County sheriff’s office released a video Thursday that shows a deputy shooting an allegedly armed man as he runs from police on the Southwest Side.

The sheriff’s office released the video after family disputed he was armed when an officer shot him twice while running from a traffic stop.

In addition to the video, the sheriff’s office also released details that allege the man resisted officers several times before and after he was shot in the 4600 block of South Laramie Avenue, although the video does not show those allegations.

Officers were patrolling in unincorporated Cook County near Stickney at 7:20 p.m. when they pulled over a speeding vehicle that had no front license plate and illegally tinted windows, the sheriff’s office said.

The driver briefly stopped, opened his door and, after refusing to exit, allegedly drove off. He turned down an alley then abandoned his car, running off with something in his hand, the sheriff’s office said.

Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

He continued to run and dropped a black cellphone, ignoring commands to stop, the sheriff’s office said.

A second officer who responded ahead of where the man was running allegedly saw the man grab a gun from his bag as he passed within several feet of the officer, the sheriff’s office said.

The first officer fired multiple shots, striking the man in the shoulder and buttocks, the sheriff’s office said.

After he was shot, the man allegedly continued to resist police and ran to a nearby porch, the sheriff’s office said. He allegedly tried to run away again but was subdued and handcuffed.

The man was placed in custody, according to Chicago police, who are investigating the shooting. He was hospitalized in good condition.

The sheriff’s office said they recovered a handgun and suspected drugs.

Maurice Foster said he was at a park with his youngest son when he got a call from his daughter saying his firstborn, 27-year-old Durel Foster, had been shot.

After seeing the video, Maurice Foster said he still couldn’t tell if his son was armed.

“I can’t see real good from the footage,” he said. “I can’t see what’s in his hand. I see him toss a bag. It goes by real fast, and it’s blurry also.”

He said he hasn’t been able to speak with his son, who’s in police custody.

Hours after the shooting, Maurice Foster denied that his son was armed and recounted a version of events related to him by Durel Foster’s friends.

They told him his son was being “harassed” by a sheriff’s officer who recognized him at a nearby car wash, Maurice Foster said.

That officer followed Durel Foster home from the car wash near 47th Street and Central Avenue, Maurice Foster said. When Durel Foster declined to stop his car for the officer and got out by his grandmother’s house in the 4600 block of South Laramie Avenue, the officer shot him.

Maurice Foster said his son is “an excellent basketball player, he’s smart, he’s intelligent, he’s respectful, and he’s good to his family.”

“Police stopped him because of the way he looked, he’s a young Black man, he had nice jewelry on, nice clothes,” Maurice Foster said. “They didn’t even tell me when they put him in the ambulance, he was already shot twice and tased, he had the handcuffs on ... and they put him in the ambulance for 10 minutes.”