‘Why are you shooting me?’ Video shows cop fatally shooting man as he runs away from them
Recently released body camera footage features a Latino man asking Chicago police officers why they shot him moments before succumbing to his injuries.
The video of the March 31 fatal police shooting shows two officers with the Chicago Police Department (CPD) chasing 22-year-old Anthony Alvarez through an alley. At one point, one officer turns on a main road, and Alvarez can be seen in a house's front yard.
“Hey, drop the gun. Drop the gun!” the officer yells repeatedly as Alvarez runs.
The officer then shoots him five times before Alvarez drops to the ground. Alvarez was running away from the officers when he was shot.
He is on the ground moaning and asks, “Why are you shooting me?”
“You had a gun!” says the officer.
As Alvarez tries to roll over, the officers start screaming.
“Hey, get on the ground! Get on the ground!”
The second officer points a gun at Alvarez, who is still on the ground.
The officer who shot him says through his radio that shots were fired by police.
The second officer points to where the gun Alvarez allegedly had is, but the bodycam footage doesn’t clearly show a gun.
The officer’s fingers obscure the view of the camera, which happens repeatedly throughout the almost three-minute-long video.
The second officer repeatedly asks Alvarez to stop moving. “I’m trying to help you. Stay with me, dude. Stay with me!” he says, kneeling over him. The officer is bent over Alvarez; it is unclear if he is performing CPR.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) released a portion of the bodycam footage on Wednesday, and it was published by Block Club Chicago.
Alvarez, who was pronounced dead after being taken to the hospital, was visiting his father that evening, Block Club Chicago previously reported.
His death was ruled a homicide, and the officers involved have reportedly been placed on administrative leave. It is not clear why the officers were pursuing Alvarez in the first place.
The Daily Dot has reached out to COPA and the CPD and will update this report if the entities respond.
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