Fatal Police Shooting In South Shore To Be Investigated By Oversight Agency

By Stephen Gossett in News on Jul 29, 2016 4:29PM

A man was fatally shot by police officers on Thursday night after he sideswiped a police vehicle in the 7400 block of S. Merrill Ave., according to a statement from CPD Office of News Affairs.

At around 7:30 p.m., police followed a Jaguar S-Type convertible, one of which had been reported stolen from Bolingbrook, and tried to curb the car near East 74th Street and South Merril Avenue, in South Shore, according to police. The driver then sideswiped the police vehicle, along with a parked car. Two officers then fired at the suspect. After a pursuit, the suspect was taken to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead, the police statement says.

Police officers suffered non-life threatening injuries during the incident and were also taken to a local hospital, according to the police narrative. Per department protocol, the officers will be assigned to administrative duties for 30 days, and CPD First Deputy Supt. Joe Escalante has ordered an investigation of the shooting.

Police officers involved in the shooting were wearing body camera, according to the statement.

Another fatal police-involved shooting occurred one week prior, on the night of Thursday, July 21, near the Museum Campus.

The Independent Police Review Authority argued in favor of stricter guidelines for use of deadly force on "fleeing felons" in a quarterly report released earlier this month.

A vigil is planned for the victim, cited as Paul ONeal by Twitter users, on Friday at 8 p.m. in the 7300 block of South Merrill Avenue.