Body cam footage was released Tuesday of one stop traffic IN Chicago made the terrible mistake of questioning the official story told by the police at the scene. Five plainclothes Chicago police officers burst into 26-year-old Dexter Reed’s car on March 21, firing 96 rounds into his vehicle after Reed apparently fired at officers. However, the officers’ body cam footage tells a very confusing story.
For example, why did five plainclothes officers, wearing tactical vests, guns drawn, jump out of an unmarked car to round up a vehicle for seat belt violations? Why were the officers shouting at Reed in the first place? Why did the officers across the street feel the need to empty their weapons and then reload? And did Reed really shoot first? After reviewing the video, neither we nor other news outlets were clear, e.g CNN. Reed’s family also finds this whole situation confusing:
Reed’s uncle Roosevelt Banks said he would panic in that scenario.
“If I were in that situation, I would be very scared. I wouldn’t know how to… react other than to defend myself,” Banks said after watching the police footage.
“After he was shot… you added clips to your gun? To me that is nothing but blatant murder.”
But the president of the Chicago police union, Fraternal Order of Police Chicago Lodge #7defended the officers’ response.
John Catanzara Jr. wrote in an email to CNN: “Of course we have clear defenses for the actions of our officers.”
To be honest, I would also be quite confused if five people in civilian clothes pulled out guns and swarmed my car. Of the 90 seconds of interaction, 41 seconds were spent in a barrage of gunfire aimed at Reed.
Multiple agencies in the Chicago area responsible for overseeing police actions are investigating the incident.
