Dashcam video showing another fatal police shooting involving a young African American man in Chicago was released Monday by the Cook County State's Attorney's office.
The video shows Chicago Police Officer George Hernandez fatally shooting 25-year-old Ronald Johnson five times while he is running away from police on the city's South Side in October 2014.
In the dashcam video, a police squad car approaches a vehicle that was seen with a window shot out on the 5300 block of South King Drive. A few seconds later, Johnson, who is wearing a dark hoodie, is seen turning off of 53rd Street heading south on King Drive toward the vehicle.
Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez said Johnson was holding a gun and ignored police commands to drop the weapon and stop running.
Alvarez said at one point, Johnson was involved in a struggle with an officer that was not captured on camera.
The video shows Johnson running out of the view of the camera before heading north on King Drive and crossing the street, heading toward a nearby park. As he is running, an officer fires several shots in his direction.
The footage does not show Johnson being hit by the bullets, but shows him lying face down in the grass following the shooting.
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Alvarez announced Monday that no charges would be filed in the shooting, saying that all evidence "points to the fact that Johnson had a gun that evening."
“It is our determination that no criminal charges should be brought against Officer Hernandez because the crime cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt," she said.
The Johnson family's attorney, Michael Oppenheimer, said Johnson was riding in a car with friends when they were stopped by police. Johnson got out of the car and ran.
"As he was running, other police officers chased him," he said. "Nobody fired their weapons until George Hernandez pulled up in a car, got out and drew his weapon and fired five shots at the back of Ronald Johnson."
Oppenheimer says Hernandez pulled up in an unmarked police vehicle with his gun drawn. He added that within two seconds, Hernandez shot Johnson as he was running away.
"It is disturbing," he said. "It will be forever etched in my memory."
Hernandez said at the time that he felt threatened, city records show. He was placed on desk duty following the shooting, according to Oppenheimer.
Johnson's mother Dorothy Holmes believes the dashcam video of her son's death will clear his name, alleging the video does not clearly show her son holding a gun.
"He didn't have a gun in his hand because I also have seen the video," Holmes said. "I looked at it twice."
A weapon was recovered from the scene, according to a police statement released after the shooting. Alvarez added that Johnson's DNA was found on the gun and that the weapon was linked to a 2013 shooting in the city.
"You can clearly see his hands in the video. He is running what I would term to be straight ahead," Oppenheimer said. "He never turns. He never points. And there is nothing in his hand."
Oppenheimer said the family has already viewed the dashcam video and noted there is no audio on it – even though the videos typically have sound.
"It doesn't make sense that there is no audio," Oppenheimer said.
Court records show that Johnson has four prior arrests. Two of the charges were dismissed and the others pled down to misdemeanors.
Johnson's family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court.
"It's not going to bring him back," Holmes said. "It's not going to make me happy. I don't want it."
