Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson addressed the fatal police shooting of an 18-year-old man Sunday, one day after relieving the third and final officer involved of all police powers.
"For the better part of Friday and Saturday, myself and other members of the command staff have reviewed the information we have so far," Johnson said during a news conference at police headquarters, adding that he watched body and dash-cam videos and spoke with on-scene detectives about Thursday's shooting.
"After this review, I am left with more questions than answers," Johnson said. "As it appears right now, departmental policies may have been violated during the incident."
Paul O'Neal, of the 1700 block of E 70th St, was killed around 9 p.m. Thursday night in the city's South Shore neighborhood, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.
He died from a gunshot wound to the back, according to an autopsy report, and his death has been ruled a homicide.
Two Chicago Police officers were "relieved of police powers" on Friday, department spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi confirmed. The third and final officer involved was relieved from duty Saturday, according to a statement from the Chicago Police Department.
The officers' identities were not released.
Guglielmi said the shooting's "chronology of events is complex" and still being investigated by the Independent Police Review Authority.
Around 7:30 p.m. Thursday, officers saw a Jaguar S-Type convertible that had been reported stolen from Bolingbrook, according to police. Police said they "attempted to curb" the car near 74th Street and Merrill Avenue when the Jaguar sideswiped the police vehicle and another nearby parked car.
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Three officers then fired their weapons at the Jaguar, police said. O'Neal, who was in the car, was taken to an area hospital where he died, police said.
According to police, officers sustained injuries while attempting to stop the vehicle and were transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
All three officers will be assigned to administrative positions pending the IPRA's investigation, police confirmed.
"When officers engage in intentional misconduct or inappropriate behavior, they have to be held accountable," Johnson said Sunday. "But we also have to understand honest mistakes can be made at the same time. These officers have to make these decisions in a split second."
"Having been in shootings and car chases myself, I know how quickly you have to make those decisions," Johnson added. "So if it's an honest mistake, we’ll get them training, coaching, mentoring and get them back out there. But if it was intentional misconduct then they have to be held accountable for it."
Another police-involved shooting occurred on Chicago's South Side Thursday, when officers wounded a man suspected of robbery in the city's Englewood neighborhood.
