Erneut tödliche Polizeiaktion in den USA

Am 28. Juli 2016 hat die Polizei in Chicago erneut tödliche Schüsse auf einen schwarzen jungen Mann abgegeben. Paul O`Neal, 18, war mit einem als gestohlenen gemeldeten Wagen von der Polizei gestoppt worden, hatte bei der Flucht zuerst Polizeiwagen gerammt und ist anschließend zu Fuß weiter geflüchtet. Paul O´Neal war eindeutig  unbewaffnet, als er durch verfolgende Polizisten durch den Rücken erschossen wurde. Anfang noch schwer verletzt und stark blutend wurde er in Handschellen gelegt und durch umstehende Polizisten beschimpft. U.a. unterstellten sie dem Sterbenden, er habe auf die Beamten geschossen. Innerhalb kürzester Zeit ist dies der dritte Fall tödlichen Polizeiterrors in den USA. Wie bereits Anfang Juli in Seattle, nahmen auch in Chicago am 7.8.2016 Vertreter von Tokata-LPSG RheinMain an den Demonstrationen in Chicago teil.  

“Bitch-ass motherfucker, fucking shoot at us,” a Chicago police officer told the bloodied, dying body of Paul O’Neal, an 18-year-old black man who was, to be clear, unarmed when officers shot and killed him on July 28.

It’s not clear exactly what happened at the moment of the shooting — once again, it seems like the shooting police officers’ body cameras fell or malfunctioned. But there is footage, released August 5, of other officers arriving to the scene after a tense chase, finding O’Neal bloodied and near death behind a Chicago house.

Chicago police shooting of Paul O’Neal: what we know

Warning: graphic images of the aftermath of a police shooting:

The confrontation began on July 28 when Chicago police officers tried to stop a reportedly stolen car that O’Neal was driving. O’Neal didn’t stop — and rammed a police vehicle to get away from the officers. During this, police opened fire at the moving car — a violation of department policy.

O’Neal crashed the car into another police vehicle, then took off running through nearby houses, based on videos released by the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA) on August 5. After catching up to him, police shot him when he was behind a home — the shots are heard in the video footage, but not seen.

The shooting itself was not captured by video. But O’Neal was shot in the back and unarmed, showing that he could not have possibly shot at the officers, like one alleged. A source told a local ABC affiliate that apparently the officers who fired the fatal shots thought O’Neal had shot at officers previously on the scene.

That O’Neal couldn’t and didn’t fire a gun could be crucial to the ongoing investigation. For officers to legally use force, they must reasonably believe O’Neal posed a threat to them or others. That’s undermined by the fact O’Neal didn’t have a gun, but the officers may potentially argue that O’Neal proved to be a violent threat when he rammed a stolen car through police vehicles.

The shooting is under investigation by the IPRA. Sharon Fairley, chief administrator of the agency, said in a statement that the agency working “as deliberately and expediently as possible in pursuit of a swift but fair determination” over the shooting, the Chicago Tribune reported. Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson also stripped three officers of their police powers, saying they appeared to violate Chicago police policies.

On video, the officers involved in the chase and shooting are heard discussing the possible consequences of their actions — how the media will react and whether they’ll get placed on desk duty or fired. One officer remarked, “I’m going to be fucking crucified.”