Judge orders Chicago, Des Plaines police turn over evidence to family of teen shot during gun battle with bank robbery suspect
CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Cook County judge has ordered two law enforcement agencies to turn over body camera footage to the family of a 15-year-old who was shot during a recent gun battle in Chicago's Old Irving Park neighborhood.
The teenager, now identified as Rylan Wilder, was an innocent bystander working as an intern at a music store when he was shot, most likely by a Des Plaines police officer, authorities have said. The Lane Tech student and aspiring musician was shot in the arm and stomach.
Tim Cavanagh, an attorney for Wilder's family, asked Judge Daniel Gillespie Tuesday morning for evidence involving an alleged Des Plaines robbery and subsequent shooting Nov. 19. Gillespie granted the motion, and ordered that the cities of Chicago and Des Plaines comply within 31 days.
"What we are really interested in is the body camera worn by that Des Plaines police officer that did the shooting, and the dashcams, and all the surveillance video," Cavanagh said.
Wilder has already undergone multiple surgeries and expects more, but he was out of the Intensive Care Unit Tuesday.
Cavanagh said the family wants to see all of the evidence to determine what exactly happened, including viewing surveillance video from UpBeat Music, where Wilder was during the shooting.
"I know he was in or around a piano room, which I'm told had about 12 pianos in it; there were a couple of hallways," the attorney said. "We believe the Des Plaines police officer had a clear view of Rylan. We are concerned why he was shot when he was an innocent bystander. He's a 15-year-old boy whose intent was to get out of there."
In addition to the request for evidence, the family is suing the surviving suspect in the alleged Des Plaines bank robbery that led to the shootout.
Prosecutors accused Maurice Murphy, 32, of being behind the wheel waiting in the getaway car Nov. 19, when police say his accomplice Christopher Willis was inside a Des Plaines Bank of America demanding money at gunpoint. Murphy was arrested in Des Plaines shortly after the robbery, but police say Willis escaped and stole a car. Police said Willis, 32, carjacked a woman and then led authorities on a chase into Irving Park. A Des Plaines officer fatally shot Willis. He died from multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.
Murphy was named in the lawsuit because he knew or should have been aware that committing an armed bank robbery would lead to a large police response, endangering the general welfare of the public at large, and could prompt further acts of violence, Cavanagh said in a news release. The attorney went on to say the family has not ruled out adding either Chicago or Des Plaines police to the lawsuit, depending on what the evidence will show them.
"So far, the family has been given very little information from police about what happened to their son and why he ... would be shot by a suburban police officer in the city of Chicago," Cavanagh said. "They need answers."
Rylan Wilder's parents described him as a passionate musician, the youngest to play at local music festival Riot Fest with his band, and an honors student at Lane Tech.
"Throughout this whole experience, Rylan was talking, being so brave, and ... more concerned about others than he was about himself," his mother, Lucia Morales, said during a press conference Monday. "The first thing that he said to me was 'Mom, is everyone else OK? I hope everyone else is OK.'"
It was unclear Monday if the 15-year-old would ever be able to play the guitar again, his parents said.
The young guitar player was supposed to play in a show this weekend at Martyrs in the North Center neighborhood, but his band pulled out after the shooting. The music venue is now turning that concert into a fundraiser for Wilder's recovery. The show will be at 6 p.m. on Saturday night at 3855 N. Lincoln Avenue in Chicago. For more information, click here.
The case is next due in court Jan. 10.
