COPA shares video of police shooting armed woman in Lawndale traffic stop

CHICAGO -- The Civilian Office of Police Accountability on Wednesday released video related to a January police shooting in Lawndale that wounded a woman.

The video shows officers take cover and open fire after a woman inside the car takes out a gun, according to COPA.

The woman was hospitalized, and her condition stabilized.

Before the shooting, officers approached an illegally parked car Jan. 9 in the 1500 block of South Karlov Avenue, COPA said. Police ordered two occupants out of the car, while another officer spoke with the woman in the drivers seat.

As the officer told her to exit the car, she allegedly brandished a gun, causing the three officers to take cover, COPA said.

Two officers fired their weapons, striking the woman multiple times, COPA said. No one else was injured.

At the time of the shooting, police said the woman was shot in an "armed confrontation."

COPA, which also released documents and other recordings of the investigation, was continuing to investigate the shooting.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire - Copyright Chicago Sun-Times 2021.)