Chicago police officers stopped a man for allegedly not wearing a seatbelt. Events spiraled to the point police officers shot at him some 96 times, a new review of the incident and police bodycam video reveals.
An investigation is now underway to determine if the officers used excessive force.
The shooting took place on March 21 when five plainclothes officers pulled over Dexter Reed Jr. on Ferdinand St. in a residential neighborhood.
Multiple officers surrounded Reed's vehicle.
"Roll the window down. Roll the window down," the female officer tells the driver in video captured on her body camera. The driver initially rolled his window down but then kept rolling it back up.
"What are you doing?" the officer asks.
"Don't roll the window up. Do not roll the window up," she continues before ordering him to unlock the vehicle.
The video shows that after Reed did not comply with the commands, officers pointed their firearms at him.
The officers are then seen retreating from the vehicle as shots rang out.
The exchange of gunfire left Reed dead and an officer shot in the forearm. Video footage and initial reports appear to confirm that Reed fired first, a new Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) report found. After one of the officers was hit, the other four officers returned fire.
Evidence found that officers returned fire approximately 96 times over a period of 41 seconds, including after Reed got out of his vehicle and fell to the ground. Reed was shot multiple times and was transported to the hospital and later died.
A gun was recovered on the front passenger seat of Reed's vehicle, the investigation found.
"We will carefully review the actions of the involved police officers and their supervisors to determine whether training, policy and directives were properly followed," said First Deputy Chief Administrator, Ephraim Eaddy. "And sent a formal request to Superintendent Larry Snelling recommending the Chicago Police Department relieve four officers of their police powers during the pendency of this investigation. We have also been in contact with the family and will continue to provide updates as the investigation is ongoing."
Reed's family and lawyers question why plain-clothed officers needed to swarm the vehicle.
"Dexter was pulled over for failing to wear his seat belt. Now this leaves many, many questions," attorney Steven Hart told CNN. "Why were tactical officers jumping out of an unmarked police car with their guns drawn for a simple traffic violation of not wearing a seatbelt?"
Reed's uncle Roosevelt Banks said he would have panicked in the situation.
"I would be terrified. I wouldn't know how to ... react other than to protect myself," Banks said.
