No Charges Will Be Filed Against Chicago Police Officers Who Shot Unarmed Paul O’Neal In the Back

On July 28, 2016, Chicago police officers tried to pull over a Jaguar that had been reported stolen.  Body cam video released by the now defunct Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA) shows that the Jaguar took off.  Officers fired at the moving vehicle, which subsequently crashed.  Paul O’Neal left the vehicle running.  Officers chased behind him, with officer Jose Diaz shooting Paul in the back, killing him.

Police Supt. Eddie Johnson took the three officers off the street.

“After a thorough review of the evidence, including dashboard and body camera recordings, witness interviews, and physical evidence, the Office of the Cook County State’s Attorney determined that criminal charges against the officers are not appropriate in this case,” the state’s attorney’s office said in a statement on Friday.

“You f—-ing shoot at us?” one officer asks the prone O’Neal as he is handcuffed in the video released by IPRA. Another officer, searching the teen’s backpack, asks: “Have you got anything on you?”

The state’s attorney’s office said that two of the officers “were places in reasonable fear of death or great bodily harm” when O’Neal drove toward them. The third officer who shot “reasonably believed that O’Neal had fired at the police, although in fact those shots were fired by fellow officers.”

What is clear is that Paul O’Neal was killed in a retaliatory act and not because any officer was in fear of their life.

Chicago Police Shoots Unarmed Suspect In The Back

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On July 28, 2016, 18-year old Paul O’Neal was fatally shot by Chicago police. The shooting is under investigation by the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA).  Paul was shot in the back.

Yesterday, numerous videos were released to the public.  There is no video of Paul being shot in the back because the body cam of the officer who fired the shot was not turned on.

Some are only looking at this from the side of Paul committing a crime, but there are two sides.  Two wrongs never make a right.

Paul O’Neal was captured on video at a gas station in Bolingbrook, Illinois where 3 vehicles were stolen overnight.  The vehicles were a 2009 Buick Enclave, a 2003 Honda Odyssey and a 2010 Nissan Rogue.   Bolingbrook is a suburb of Chicago.

About 3 hours after the vehicles were stolen in Bolingbrook,  a 2002 Jaguar XKR convertible was reported stolen.  One of the other stolen cars seen at the gas station was recovered nearby.

At about 7:30 p.m. on July 28, 2016, Paul O’Neal is seen driving the Jaguar on the Southside of Chicago. Chicago police attempted to stop the Jaguar, but it hit a Chicago police SUV and a parked car while continuing to flee. Two officers opened fire while Paul was still in the Jaguar.