Strong reaction and hard questions continue after police body camera video released Tuesday showed the moment gunfire erupted during a traffic stop in Chicago last month, killing 26-year-old Dexter Reed who authorities say opened fire at officers before they responded with more than 90 gunshots in less than a minute.
"If he was supposed to get pulled over for a traffic stop, why do they have four guns pointed at him? He was scared. And after he was already on the ground there, they still put him in cuffs instead of checking to see if he's breathing. They shot to him 96 times and reload the clip three times," Reed's sister Porscha Banks said during a Tuesday press conference.
According to Chicago's Civilian Office of Police Accountability, the oversight committee of Chicago's police department, five Chicago officers assigned to an 11th District tactical unit had pulled over Reed on March 21 in the 3800 block of West Ferdinand for "purportedly not wearing a seatbelt."
As the group stopped Reed, multiple officers surrounded his vehicle and, according to several bodycam videos, asked him to roll his windows down repeatedly. Officers then shouted at Reed not to roll the windows up and to unlock his doors.
As the shouts from police grew louder, gunfire began.
The police oversight agency said a "review of video footage and initial reports appears to confirm that Mr. Reed fired first, striking the officer and four officers returned fire."
The videos show multiple perspectives, including from the officer who was shot. But there isn’t clear footage of Reed shooting. A gun was later recovered from Reed's vehicle.
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While the videos released offer a more detailed account of what happened than what police initially said last month, activists and families members are questioning authorities’ account of the shooting, looking for answers about why Reed was pulled over, and why the incident escalated so fast.
Andrew Stroth, an attorney for the family, called it an unconstitutional police stop with plainclothes officers who did not announce they were police. He said the family wants to see a swift investigation and for the department to better comply with a court-supervised reform plan.
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"We're asking for a collective commitment from the city and community stakeholders to advance change," Stroth said during the press conference.
Chicago Police Public Information Officer Thomas Ahern said the department was cooperating with the investigation.
“We cannot make a determination on this shooting until all the facts are known and this investigation has concluded,” Ahern said Tuesday.
State's Attorney Kim Foxx said her office will determine whether the officers’ use of force was warranted or necessitated criminal charges.
“Let me assure you that our pursuit of justice will be relentless, guided by the facts, grounded in evidence and the law,” Foxx said Tuesday.
As the investigation continues, here's what we know.
What body camera video shows
The footage begins with a tactical unit driving up to the scene. Multiple officers are heard screaming profanity-laced commands for Reed to first lower the window and then open the door.
As they shout, Reed can be heard saying "OK, I'm trying to," with officers continuing to pull on the door handle and shouting for him to unlock the doors, some backing away and raising their firearms as he rolls his windows up.
In the videos, gunfire is heard as officers then take cover and several gunshots are fired in a matter of seconds. One officer falls away from the scene, with video showing blood dripping from his arm.
"When Mr. Reed did not comply with these commands, officers pointed their firearms at Mr. Reed and ultimately there was an exchange of gunfire which left Mr. Reed dead and an officer shot in the forearm," COPA said in a release.
MORE: Cellphone videos show the moment and aftermath of the fatal shooting Dexter Reed
In total, officers fired roughly 96 shots in 41 seconds, some of which continued after Reed got out of the vehicle and fell to the ground, COPA reported. Video evidence recorded dozens of shots fired within that time, though it's not clear which are from officers and which are from Reed. Dozens of bullet holes can be seen in Reed's vehicle.
A man calling 911 to report the shooting described it as “shooting like they’re having a Vietnam War.”
In the barrage of gunfire, one officer can be seen on his own body camera unloading and reloading multiple magazines into his gun.
He later remarks to a fellow officer: “Did he start shooting at us?”
A female officer replies: “Don’t say anything. Do you hear me? Be quiet.”
Reed exits the vehicle and slumps to the ground, ending up facedown with his head near the rear passenger wheel and wearing only one shoe. Blood trails into a nearby gutter.
“Don’t move! Don’t move!” the officers scream at Reed, lifting up bloody slumping hands in search of a gun but not finding one. They handcuff him as he remains facedown and unmoving.
Of the 96 shots fired at Reed, one officer fired at least 50 times - including after Reed was lying on the ground.
Reed suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was later pronounced dead. One officer was shot in the wrist and was last reported to be in good condition, CPD Supt. Larry Snelling said at the time.
Multiple other officers were transported to the hospital for observation and were reported to be in good condition.
Other CPD surveillance cameras weren't working at time of shooting
NBC 5 Investigates has learned a Chicago Police Department surveillance camera, located just feet from where police fatally shot Reed, wasn’t working at the time of the deadly encounter.
COPA said the POD camera in close proximity to the deadly shooting had a “defect” that allowed it to livestream, but meant it failed to record video of the incident.
NBC 5 Investigates has asked for more clarity on what happened with this particular POD camera and how many others might not be working. A spokesman for Mayor Brandon Johnson said he would get back to us.
The camera angle could’ve provided additional insight into the actions of Reed and the 11th district tactical unit officers.
“It's critical to look at an incident not from a single perspective but from multiple perspectives and put those put those together to get a better understanding the whole so it's deeply unfortunate that that over that overhead perspective that could have given a broader perspective of what was happening including what was happening immediately before the officers got out of their car” wasn’t available, said Craig Futterman, a University of Chicago law professor who studies police strategies and their impacts on communities. He also reviewed the body camera videos released by COPA.
Who was Dexter Reed?
Stroth said Reed’s mother, sister, uncle and father saw the video Tuesday and were emotionally distraught. He said they remember the young man as a talented high school basketball player with ambitions of being a sports broadcaster.
“I really can’t explain the pain that me and my family is going through, but I just hope there are people out there who understand he was a son, he was a brother, he was an uncle, he had loved ones,” Banks said during Tuesday's press conference. “He was somebody very important.”
At the time of the shooting, Cook County court records showed Reed was out on pretrial release after being charged in 2023 with three counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and one count of possession of a firearm with a revoked FOID card. He had appeared in court in person days before the shooting and was next scheduled for a status hearing in April.
Latest on the investigation
COPA said their investigation into what happened is ongoing.
“As an agency established on the core principle of reform, we take investigations into the use of deadly force and surrounding circumstances very seriously. COPA has the responsibility, as is noted in the Federal Consent Decree and Municipal Ordinance, to review every police shooting involving CPD officers," First Deputy Chief Administrator Ephraim Eaddy said in a statement. "Each use of deadly force must be evaluated by examining the totality of circumstances, including the officer’s actions prior to the use of force. Accordingly, we will carefully review the actions of the involved police officers and their supervisors to determine whether training, policy and directives were properly followed. Our immediate investigatory steps included responding to the scene, viewing available body worn camera footage, and observing the collection of evidence, including shell casings and other ballistics evidence."
Chicago police also said the shooting remained under investigation.
A week before the Civilian Office of Police Accountability released the videos from the shooting of Dexter Reed, the head of COPA, Andrea Kersten, crafted a letter calling on Chicago's police superintendent to strip the four officers of their police powers.
In the letter, COPA's chief administrator said she questions the validity of the officers' stories – stating it seems unclear how the officers knew Dexter Reed wasn't wearing a seatbelt given their location to him and the dark tint on his SUV windows.
Kersten also wrote she has "grave concerns" about the officers' ability to determine what is necessary and reasonable deadly force.
An NBC 5 Investigates’ review of Chicago Police data found that officers in the 11th police district – where this shooting took place – use force more than any other police district in all of Chicago.
The department’s own data shows there have been at least 62 use of force incidents this year alone.
In fact, since 2020, the 11th district has outpaced all other police districts when it comes to use of force.
Response to the shooting
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson called the footage "extremely painful and traumatic for many of our city's residents."
"As mayor, and as a father raising a family – including two Black boys on the West Side – I am personally devastated to see yet another young Black man lose his life during an interaction with the police," Johnson said during a press conference following the video's release. "My heart breaks for the family of Dexter Reed. They are grieving the loss of a son, a brother and a nephew. I spoke to Dexter’s family this weekend and offered them my deepest condolences. I know there is also a community of friends, teammates, coaches, and neighbors who are mourning his loss as well."
"I have also been praying for the full recovery of the officer who was shot during this interaction, and who I visited in the hospital the day of the incident. Thankfully, he is recovering, but if that bullet had hit him a few inches in a different direction, I would be here today talking about the loss of another young Black man," Johnson continued. "It weighs heavily on me that this event took place just blocks from my own community. And it is not lost on me that both Dexter Reed and this officer could have been my students."
Johnson noted the officers involved in the shooting are on a 30-day administrative leave.
"I want to be clear, shooting a police officer can never be condoned, or excused. I will never stand for that. And we will always hold our police to the highest standard," Johnson said. "As agents of the law, they have the highest responsibility to the communities they serve. As a government, as representatives of the people, we have an obligation to abide by the rule of law and to follow procedures, and that is what we are doing here. As this city remembers the life of Dexter Reed, I urge everyone to remain peaceful and not lead our city down a path of division, but instead towards healing and change for the better. We all grieve the loss of life and the trauma that follows pervasive violence. We cannot ever accept violence as a way of life in Chicago. This is a call for dialogue, advocacy, and ultimately constructive action to prevent tragic events like this from ever happening again. And this administration is deeply committed to accountability and transparency so that true justice and true safety are realized."
Some faith leaders in Chicago have called for an independent investigation into the shooting.
"Mr. Reed was beloved by his family, a standout athlete, and formerly worked as a certified security officer at the University of Illinois Credit Union One arena. His family deserves the unadulterated truth," the Leaders Network of Chicago, which includes Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. Ira Acree and several others, said in a statement. "We believe in law and order, community policing, and police accountability. In the case of Mr. Reed, we demand to know how a simple traffic stop results in civilian death. The video record of that encounter raises more questions than answers. Simply put, we cannot trust the police or its sister agency, COPA, to police the police. An independent investigation is the only way to gain confidence in the system."
Rev. Michael Pfleger said the footage "is horrific to watch" and "leaves me with many questions."
"This investigation must be thorough, transparent, and honest," Pfleger said in a statement. "If laws and procedures were not followed, people must be held responsible. We must all wait for the complete investigation and keep our eye on the process and transparency."
