Protesters showed up Thursday night at a Chicago Police Board meeting demanding the firing and prosecution of officers who fired 96 shots at Dexter Reed during a traffic stop last month.
Dozens packed a conference room at CPD Headquarters, 3510 S. Michigan Ave., in Douglas, while dozens more waited behind barricades outside, clamoring to be let in. Hundreds had gathered for a rally in support of Reed outside headquarters earlier in the evening.
Grace Patino, with the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, said during public comment that Chicago police Supt. Larry Snelling — who was at the meeting — should be dismissed.
“Dexter Reed should be here today,” Patino said. “The officers involved in the execution of Dexter Reed must be immediately fired and prosecuted to the fullest extent possible.”
“We need an immediate end to pretextual traffic stops, and Larry Snelling should be fired,” she added to loud applause.
Miracle Boyd, an activist with Good Kids Mad City, said Reed was “racially profiled,” and his death was detrimental to Black communities.
“We demand the tactical units be banned, and Mayor Johnson, Supt. Snelling and COPA fire the officers,” she said. “We no longer need police to perform traffic stops because it’s not safe.”
Snelling didn’t address the Reed shooting or the calls for his firing and instead told the crowd that he understood many of the issues they’re fighting for because of his upbringing. He said the department was working on bettering its relationship with the community.
“This department is training, we’re working, and we’re working towards developing a greater relationship with our community members, and we will continue to do that,” Snelling said. “I don’t deter anybody from stepping up for anything that you believe in. Please step up for any and everything that you believe in.”
Snelling and Andrea Kersten, chief administrator of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, during the meeting sparred over transparency in the Reed case. Snelling had criticized Kersten for making public comments on the preliminary information in the investigation before interviewing officers.
Kersten read a statement defending the sharing of preliminary information with the public as a crucial step in restoring trust between the public and the city’s institutions.
“Given our city’s history and the lack of trust in our institutions and processes that resolve these issues, it is crucial to provide information to the public when we can,” Kersten said. “The recitation of preliminary facts that I delivered to the public last week was objective, fair, and struck the delicate balance between informing the public and maintaining the integrity of the ongoing investigations.”
She added that the criticism “demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding of COPA’s role and process and smacks of hypocrisy.”
In response, Snelling said making statements to the public before getting all the facts could be misleading, and that’s why the department had not commented on Reed’s shooting. He also appeared to take a jab at Kersten’s appearance on ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith’s podcast last week.
“You will not find me on the Stephen A. Smith show,” he said. Kersten didn’t respond to Snelling’s comments and said she stood by her statement.
Reed’s fatal encounter with police began when he was stopped in the 3800 block of West Ferdinand Street in Humboldt Park on March 21 for a seat belt violation, according to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability. As Reed resisted orders to roll down his windows and open the door, he shot a tactical officer in the hand, COPA said.
Four other officers returned fire, shooting 96 times in 41 seconds, COPA said, on the release of video footage of the shooting last week. The images sparked protests, which became confrontational outside the 11th District Police headquarters.
During the rally before the meeting, Melina Lesus, who teaches at Westinghouse College Prep, where Reed was a standout basketball player, said teachers trusted him and were shocked to hear of his death.
“I was talking to one of my colleagues who did teach him as a freshman, and she said, ‘Melina, how could this happen? He was the most respectful kid,’” Lesus said.
