UPDATE? holy shit Chicago PD

[NewOrleans]

From MJ, sorry about the source.  

Update, 1/1/2016, 10:50 a.m.: Citing an unnamed law enforcement source, the Chicago Tribune reported more details about what the officer has told investigators. The officer said Quintonio Lagrier ran out of the house swinging a bat when police arrived. The officer was on the porch steps when he fired his gun and did not see Bettie Jones in the doorway, the source said. At least seven shell casings were found at the bottom of the porch on the walkway, the source said. An attorney for Jones’ family has said that several shell casings were found outside the home near the sidewalk.

Eyewitness accounts from neighbors appear to confirm a Chicago police officer began shooting into the home of Quintonio Legrier and Bettie Jones from several feet away while standing on the sidewalk. That contradicts the police department's early account, which suggests one of the officers opened fire in the entryway after Legrier confronted him.

Voodoo note: I know for a fact the father said the officer was 20/30 feet away when he fired.  I am willing to believe he overestimated 20/30 feet and the officer was in fact much closer, but there is a vast difference between being on the steps and being several feet away.   So I am not willing to believe the officer saying he was on the stairs.  And what is up with the bolded?  And why the fuck does a baseball bat warrant a shooting? No, really, even if getting run at (from a distance), why is shooting the only or the correct or the justified response?  Just like with Laquan M., it is not an imminent threat.  And why would you fire toward an open doorway? Does it not follow that people might be inside?




OP

Chicago PD must really want to emulate last year's NYPD.  Shit is still hot from Laquan McDonald, and then THIS?  I don't know what to think about the young man's situation but the lady was seemingly just a neighbor?!

Two people were killed on Chicago's West Side after a police-involved shooting early Saturday morning.

Family members say 57-year-old Bettie Jones, of the 4700 block of W. Erie, was killed. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office listed Jones' age as 55.

The man was identified as Quintonio Legrier, 19, also of the 4700 block of W. Erie.

Family members tell NBC 5 that Jones was a mother of five and Legrier was a Northern Illinois University student studying engineering.

The two were shot about 4:25 a.m. in the 4700 block of West Erie as officers were responding to a call of a domestic disturbance, according to a statement from the Chicago Police Office of News Affairs.

Neighbors and family members at the scene said that the domestic disturbance stemmed from the 19-year-old threatening another man in the home with a metal baseball bat.

They said the woman, who also lived in the building, opened the door for police and was shot shortly after.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Latesha Jones, the woman’s daughter, said she woke up when she heard three gunshots. She walked to the front door and saw her mother bleeding on the ground, she said.

“She wasn’t saying anything,” Jones said, who added that she could feel her mother breathing before she was taken away by paramedics.

Jones, whose family has lived in the building for a year and a half, said that police shot her mother from outside the home after she opened the door, reports the Sun-Times. Jones' family told NBC 5 they plan to file a lawsuit.

Shortly before 9:30 a.m., Chicago Police Chief of Detectives Eugene Roy said in a press conference that officers from the 11th District responded to a call of a domestic disturbance early Saturday morning.

"Upon their arrival, they were confronted by a combative individual, resulting in an officer firing shots, fatally wounding two individiuals," Roy said. "The matter is under investigation by the Independent Police Review Authority and further questions regarding this matter should be directed to them," he added.

Source: www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Police-Involved-Shooting-Leaves-Two-Dead-Family-363547691.html#ixzz3vSuhtVt3

[NewOrleans]

More clear article

 


Chicago police shot and killed a man and a woman as officers responded to a domestic disturbance at a West Garfield Park home early Saturday, according to police and relatives of the victims.

A police statement contained no other details, but a source said the man — a 19-year-old Northern Illinois University student — was carrying a bat and threatening his father when police were called. No gun was recovered at the scene.

The 55-year-old woman, Bettie Jones, who was killed was a downstairs neighbor and had been asked by the 19-year-old's father to keep an eye out for the arrival of the police, according to the man's family.

The deaths marked the city’s first fatal police shooting since the Nov. 24 release of dash-cam video of the killing of Laquan McDonald put a national spotlight on Chicago officers’ use of lethal force.


Relatives said the NIU student killed Saturday, Quintonio LeGrier, was studying engineering but recently was struggling with mental issues. “I was praying with him because he wasn’t acting like himself,” said LeGrier’s great-aunt, Betty Turner, 56.

The neighbor, Jones, was a mother of five who lived on the first floor of the two-flat where the shooting occurred. LeGrier's father lives on the second floor.

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Latisha Jones said she woke to gunfire and found her mother with a gunshot wound to the neck. “She wasn’t saying anything,” Jones said. “I had to keep checking for a pulse."

Dispatch audio for fatal West Side police shooting
Police audio from about 4:26 to 4:41 a.m. Dec. 26, 2015, covers the dispatch of units and eventual call of "shots fired" during a fatal police shooting in West Garfield Park.
Relatives said police were called to the home by LeGrier's father because his son was agitated and carrying a metal bat, family members said.

“His father was scared because that’s not his character,” said LeGrier's mother, Janet Cooksey, 49, who was not present at the time of the shooting.

LeGrier’s father told Jones downstairs not to approach his son and to keep an eye out for police.

Responding officers were told by a dispatcher that a "male caller said someone is threatening his life. It's also coming in as a domestic. The 19-year-old son is banging on his bedroom door with a baseball bat."

Officers from District 11 arrived at the home about 4:25 a.m.

The officers "were confronted by a combative subject resulting in the discharging of the officer's weapon, fatally wounding two individuals," the police statement said.

The statement had no specifics, but the shooting appeared to have happened as LeGrier came out the front door, according to a relative of the teen. Evidence markers were placed on the sidewalk leading to the porch.

Bettie Jones and Quintonio LeGrier
Bettie Jones, left, and Quintonio LeGrier were fatally shot by police at a West Garfield Park residence Dec. 26, 2015. (Family photos)
It was not clear how Jones was shot. Her daughter said she found her mother on the floor of her apartment. She said she put her hand up to her mother’s face and she was still breathing. Jones was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.

While Latisha Jones was talking to a reporter, a car drove up to the intersection and a woman stepped outside. “Police shot my mama!” she yelled, crying and swearing.

LeGrier's mother was critical of how police handled the situation. She said the family has been told her son was shot seven times.

"He's gone, he's gone. Seven times he was shot," Cooksey said. "He didn't have a gun. He had a bat. One or two times would have brought him down.

“You call the police, you try to get help and you lose a loved one," she said. "What are they trained for? Just to kill? I thought that we were supposed to get service and protection. I mean, my son was an honors student. He's here for Christmas break, and now I've lost him.

"I'm trying to be strong because I pray. But that's my only child. And I'm hurting. I'm hurting real bad," she said.

She directed her anger at Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who has been under fire since the video was released last month showing a Chicago police officer fatally shooting the 17-year-old McDonald, firing 16 times.

"Are we gonna get protected or is the police just gonna keep taking lives?" Cooksey said. "I mean, whose gonna answer these questions? Emanuel, I want a personal apology for my son's life. I don't want you to get on the news and say you're so ... I want a personal apology."

Cooksey acknowledged that her son "had mental issues" but insisted they were no cause for how police reacted.

"They did tell me he was shot seven times. That's a bit much. That's a bit much," she said. "I don't take all of that. My son only weighed about 150 pounds. ... Why do you have to be shot that many times? Why? If the police is trained in the field, then how, they're just handling the situation by killing people?"

A police source said investigators were waiting for the autopsy to determine how many times LeGrier was shot.

The source also said investigators were looking into whether responding officers knew they were dealing with someone with mental issues and whether anyone on the scene was equipped with a Taser.

Relatives of Bettie Jones said they, too, have "so many questions and no answers."

"I'm numb right now," said her brother, Melvin Jones. "Right now there's a whole lot of anger, a whole lot of tears.

Jones lived in the first-floor apartment with her boyfriend, he said. She was the mother of four daughters and a son, her brother said. The daughters are 38, 33, and 19-year old twins. The son is 30.

Melvin Jones said he and about 15 other relatives were at the apartment Friday to celebrate Christmas with food, family and card games.

"She had an excellent Christmas. Family was over," Melvin Jones said. "And then to wake up to this.

"You see it on the news and think that something needs to be done," Melvin Jones said, referring to recent shootings by Chicago police. "It really hits you and it just leaves you numb.

"I don't have time to feel," he added. "I have a funeral to prepare."

[WOT?*]

Don't read the comments for the articles. I made that mistake on my homepage link.
I am ashamed of my people.

[NewOrleans]

Dec 26, 2015 16:58:09 GMT -5 WOT?* said:

Don't read the comments for the articles. I made that mistake on my homepage link. 

Can I ask why you posted these here? 

I do not read the comments section on purpose. 

but when people post them here, I unwittingly read them, since I didn't know that it was going to be nasty garbage when one of you replies with those.

comments section and social media drivel just upsets members of the board.

[WOT?*]

My apologies NewOrleans
I figured that most on the board were familiar with the language and somewhat desensitized to the ones that I'd posted, as they're common refrains among the bigots and racists and have been used in discussions here and elsewhere.

[brookles]

Holy shit. So that woman was just a neighbor on the lookout for the cops to arrive?

[runforrest]

Fucking A. Chicago PD are corrupt as fuck.

[WOT?*]

Expanded story, I think.

www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/2-fatally-shot-1-accidentally-by-chicago-police-on-west-side-families-demand-answers/ar-BBnX1Eg?ocid=spartandhp

From the article:

Police were offering few details of the early-morning shooting, the first use of lethal force by Chicago police since last month's release of a video of Laquan McDonald's death put a national spotlight on the city. But late Saturday, they admitted one of those shot, Bettie Jones, 55, was struck accidentally by police aiming for Quintonio LeGrier, 19.

* * *

The Police Department would not say where the victims were standing when they were shot, but blood could be seen in the small vestibule and just inside Jones' apartment. At least one bullet appeared to have traveled through Jones' apartment, hitting at least two walls.

[whiskeyandwine]

Dec 26, 2015 23:45:36 GMT -5 runforrest said:

Fucking A. Chicago PD are corrupt as fuck.

Yuuup.

I am speechless. And so sad. These poor families. That poor dad.

[bina]

I just don't understand how an older woman, who by all accounts was helping the police, gets shot and no one gives a fuck. It's horrible. So so wrong.
ETA I'm also sad for the 19 year old boy, but sadly not as shocked by that one as I was by the woman.

[ttt]

Dec 26, 2015 21:15:14 GMT -5 1234FIF! said:

After reading these two confusing stories I come away with these details but there is a gap that is unclear and I need it explained by some authority:

A young man suffering from mental health issues and possibly suffering a mental health break was banging on his bedroom door with a baseball bat.

His father called the police for help and asked the downstairs neighbor to keep a lookout for the police.

Downstairs neighbor opens the door for the police, the young man with the mental health issues seems to pose some threat with his bat, and police shoot him.

So...how does downstairs neighbor end up shot?

I don't understand this either. I can see how the man with the bat ended up shot but i don't understand what sequence of events led to this woman being shot.

[ribollita]

Horrible.

[miniroller]

I'm sorry, I halfway heard on the news; after which, I was reading here & wish I would've paid better attention. This morning they were saying the gun misfired to explain Bettie's death. Is this just Chicago PD's attempt to cover ass?
I'm beyond disgusted & enraged for this poor woman, and the family she's left behind.

[underwaterrhymes]

Not only is it horrible that both of these people were killed, but the utter disregard for the lives of other people living there indicated by the bullets that went through the walls is also despicable.

[ribollita]

Dec 26, 2015 23:45:36 GMT -5 runforrest said:

Fucking A. Chicago PD are corrupt as fuck.

Can you explain what you mean by corrupt? That there may be a coverup?

[underwaterrhymes]

Dec 27, 2015 9:10:22 GMT -5 ribollita said:

Dec 26, 2015 23:45:36 GMT -5 runforrest said:

Fucking A. Chicago PD are corrupt as fuck.

Can you explain what you mean by corrupt? That there may be a coverup?

www.nbcchicago.com/investigations/Chicago-Police-Officers-Allegations-of-Corruption-291607971.html

Allegations of corruption go deeper than just this particular incident.

But, yes, a coverup would not be out of the realm of possibility. Chicago has huge problems with corruption in both the government and police force.

[ribollita]

Dec 27, 2015 9:15:05 GMT -5 underwaterrhymes said:

Dec 27, 2015 9:10:22 GMT -5 ribollita said:

Can you explain what you mean by corrupt? That there may be a coverup?

www.nbcchicago.com/investigations/Chicago-Police-Officers-Allegations-of-Corruption-291607971.html

Allegations of corruption go deeper than just this particular incident.

But, yes, a coverup would not be out of the realm of possibility. Chicago has huge problems with corruption in both the government and police force.

Thanks. My PP was written because I first read the comment as the corrupt nature of the PD may have affected the actual shooting but that didn't make sense to me.

I read the article.
"In addition to the dead end assignments, Hanna said she overheard her bosses instructing other officers in the unit that Spalding and Echeverria were not to be given backup if they called for it."
Jesus Christ.

[penguingrrl]

Holy shot. How does an innocent bystander end up murdered by police like this? In the process of shooting a mentally ill teenager they also shot a bystander. There are no words.

Funny how white murderers make it out alive but sick black teenagers don't.

[bimbi284]

Dec 27, 2015 8:38:07 GMT -5 ttt said:

Dec 26, 2015 21:15:14 GMT -5 1234FIF! said:

After reading these two confusing stories I come away with these details but there is a gap that is unclear and I need it explained by some authority:

A young man suffering from mental health issues and possibly suffering a mental health break was banging on his bedroom door with a baseball bat.

His father called the police for help and asked the downstairs neighbor to keep a lookout for the police.

Downstairs neighbor opens the door for the police, the young man with the mental health issues seems to pose some threat with his bat, and police shoot him.

So...how does downstairs neighbor end up shot?

I don't understand this either. I can see how the man with the bat ended up shot but i don't understand what sequence of events led to this woman being shot.

The fact that we can say, "I can see why the man with the bat got shot," and mean it makes me sick.
This isn't an attack on you, ttt, but the fact that we've come to somehow understand that this is considered normal practice by police leaves me at a loss for words, and feeling all the feels.

[ttt]

Dec 27, 2015 11:17:04 GMT -5 bimbi284 said:

Dec 27, 2015 8:38:07 GMT -5 ttt said:

I don't understand this either. I can see how the man with the bat ended up shot but i don't understand what sequence of events led to this woman being shot.

The fact that we can say, "I can see why the man with the bat got shot," and mean it makes me sick.
This isn't an attack on you, ttt , but the fact that we've come to somehow understand that this is considered normal practice by police leaves me at a loss for words, and feeling all the feels.

It's not considered normal practice, but a baseball bat is a weapon. It is not, on its face, appalling that someone with a weapon, especially someone who was emotionally disturbed and possibly mentally ill, somehow ended up shot by the police (it may very well be in this case, but I'm talking about the statement in general). It is, however, appalling that someone who seems to be entirely unrelated to the incident ended up shot and killed. 

[ttt]

Dec 27, 2015 9:23:28 GMT -5 ribollita said:

Dec 27, 2015 9:15:05 GMT -5 underwaterrhymes said:

www.nbcchicago.com/investigations/Chicago-Police-Officers-Allegations-of-Corruption-291607971.html

Allegations of corruption go deeper than just this particular incident.

But, yes, a coverup would not be out of the realm of possibility. Chicago has huge problems with corruption in both the government and police force.

Thanks. My PP was written because I first read the comment as the corrupt nature of the PD may have affected the actual shooting but that didn't make sense to me.

I read the article.
"In addition to the dead end assignments, Hanna said she overheard her bosses instructing other officers in the unit that Spalding and Echeverria were not to be given backup if they called for it."
Jesus Christ.

[sparrowsong]

If a man with a bat was even close enough to be life threatening to an officer, the officer's gunfire should not be so inaccurate that innocent women nearby are killed. This story is awful and inexplicable.

[StrawberryBlondie]

I've been starting and deleting replies over and over. Nothing seems sufficient.

[NewOrleans]

Bump for update

[bimbi284]

Jan 1, 2016 15:09:44 GMT -5 NewOrleans said:

Dec 26, 2015 15:43:36 GMT -6 voodoo said:

And why the fuck does a baseball bat warrant a shooting? No, really, even if getting run at (from a distance), why is shooting the only or the correct or the justified response? Just like with Laquan M., it is not an imminent threat. And why would you fire toward an open doorway? Does it not follow that people might be inside?

QFT


(ETA: OMG I had to write this post like 80 times cuz the quote kept coming up all weird)

[downtoearth]

Their poor families! A dad who needs help calls for it and his own son and helping neighbor end up dead immediately. This is not right!