Bodycam footage of deadly Chicago police shooting in Garfield Park to be released on Tuesday

ByChuck Goudie and Barb Markoff, Christine Tressel, and Tom Jones WLS logo
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
Bodycam video of deadly West Side CPD shooting to be released
Less than three weeks ago, 26-year-old Dexter A. Reed was killed during a Chicago Police Department traffic stop that ended with dozens of bullets fired.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The ABC 7 I-Team has learned video of a fatal police encounter last month will be released on Tuesday, potentially providing some answers to a shooting that has led to many questions.

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Less than three weeks ago, 26-year-old Dexter A. Reed was killed during a Chicago Police Department traffic stop that ended with dozens of bullets fired.

Reed was pulled over by five Chicago police officers from an 11th district tactical unit along the 3800 block of West Ferdinand Street for a traffic stop shortly after 6 p.m. on March 21, according to a Civilian Office of Police Accountability news release.

The traffic stop ended with Reed's SUV spotted with bullet holes, at least a dozen visible in footage captured by Chopper 7 on the day of the shooting.

Reed was critically wounded and died after being transported to Mt. Sinai Hospital.

Chicago police said an officer was shot in the wrist but was in "good condition."

Detectives and the COPA said a gun was found at the scene of the shooting.

The body-worn camera footage from the officers who pulled Reed over that day may illuminate how this went down, what caused the encounter to go sideways, who fired shots when, and possibly what was said between police and Reed, whose relatives have questioned the traffic stop and fatal shooting.

"I just want some answers as to why was he stopped? What was the purpose of him being stopped?" Reed's uncle Roosevelt Banks III told ABC7 the day after the shooting. "Because obviously, if he was stopped, why did it lead to him losing his life when he was on his way to get some brakes for his car?"

At the time of the shooting, Reed was facing charges for illegally possessing a firearm in Chicago last summer, according to Cook County court records.

A Chicago police report states Reed was arrested last July after he allegedly was caught carrying a 357 magnum in his pants pocket while walking into a street festival.

Reed was in court on that gun charge less than two weeks before his fatal encounter with Chicago police.

A spokesperson for the COPA told the I-Team that officer-worn body camera footage and materials from the March 21 police shooting investigation will be released on Tuesday.

Reed's family members and their attorney screened the police body camera videos on Monday afternoon.

The family's attorney told the I-Team they are scheduled to speak publicly, following the morning release of those police videos.

COPA's policy is to make the videos public but not explain them, or offer any narrative of what is being seen.

The conclusions and any recommendations come in a report from Chicago police that could take months to release.