Videos released Wednesday by a police oversight agency show Chicago police chasing a man they eventually fatally shot in Lawndale on the West Side.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability released nine videos, some taken by police body cameras, of the May 11 incident, in which police alleged that Sharell Brown, 30, pointed a gun at one of the officers before he was shot in a gangway in the second of two “armed confrontations” during the pursuit.
Brown was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital but died shortly thereafter, authorities said. An officer was taken to Rush University Medical Center to be treated for chest pain and an injured ankle.
In one video, an officer is seen talking to Brown before he gets out of his car and starts chasing him down the street near a school. A few seconds later, gunfire can be heard, but it is not clear in the video whether Brown or the officer shot first.
The officer chases Brown down an alley and pauses to fire more rounds before continuing the chase. He loses Brown as police swarm the area.
One officer finds the magazine of a weapon on the street.
“That’s not my mag; it’s his,” the officer is heard saying. “He pointed the gun directly at me.”
About 15 minutes later, a volley of gunshots is heard in the distance and officers converge at the sound.
Another video shows the aftermath of this second shooting. Brown is seen slumped against a brick wall. An armed officer stands over his body and is seen removing a gun from his hands.
“That’s his, right?” an arriving officer asks the armed officer. “Yes, should I unload it or leave it or what?”
“Just leave it,” the other officer replies. “It was in his hand, I just pulled it out of his hand,” explains the armed officer.
COPA said the videos were released in conjunction with the city’s transparency policy and that the investigation is “active and ongoing.”
