A man who was shot by police during a shootout Sunday — which police said led to wide-scale looting downtown hours later — has been charged with attempted murder.
The Chicago Police Department announced Monday evening that 20-year-old Latrell Allen was charged with two counts of attempted murder and one count of unlawful possession of a weapon.
About 2:30 p.m. Sunday, officers responded to a call of a person with a gun in an alley near the 5700 block of South Racine and saw a man matching the description take off on foot, Deputy Chief Yolanda Talley told reporters on Sunday.
During an ensuing chase, Allen allegedly turned to the officers and fired shots. Two officers then returned fire and struck Allen, whose condition was later stabilized at the University of Chicago Medical Center, authorities said.
Allen’s brother, Earl Allen, disputed the police narrative, and denied his brother fired at police. He did not witness the shooting.
Also on Monday, the independent agency tasked with probing police shootings announced that a preliminary investigation found “the involved Chicago Police Officers assigned to the newly created Community Safety Team did not have body worn cameras.”
In a statement, police acknowledged that fact. Currently, only “District-assigned officers, tactical officers and supervisors are equipped with body-worn cameras as they are deployed daily to Chicago’s communities,” according to the statement.
“The Department has been actively working to equip all gang investigative, saturation and narcotics teams with body-worn cameras and now, as these units have transitioned into the new citywide Community Safety Team and Critical Incident Response Team,” police said. “[W]e have prioritized all officers who are a part of these teams to receive body-worn cameras under the 2021 budget if they don’t already have one.”
Under the current contract, officers can’t share body cameras with other officers on different watches.
COPA said its investigators have already reviewed POD camera footage that “captures the pursuit of a man matching the description of the person sought to be in possession of a firearm.” The agency is also seeking third-party video footage and any witnesses.
“In addition to review of video evidence and investigative interviews, COPA will review the results of ballistic and other forensic evidence prior to reaching a finding into the officer’s use of deadly force,” said COPA spokesman Ephraim Eaddy. “There are moments when we need help from the public because police accountability takes us all and we encourage anyone with information about this shooting to contact our office.”
Anyone with information about Sunday’s shooting should contact COPA at (312) 743-2672 or COPA-info@chicagocopa.org.
The officers involved in the shooting were detailed to the newly formed Community Safety Team, which is dedicated to supplementing efforts by district commanders and reaching out to community leaders in an attempt to forge stronger neighborhood ties.
Ultimately, though, the shooting gave way to a violent standoff between police and neighborhood residents and then sparked a wave of overnight looting in the downtown area, officials said.
