Teen Shot By Police Died From Single Gunshot Wound To The Back: Autopsy
By Stephen Gossett in News on Aug 17, 2016 4:35PM
Screenshot / Log# 1081642- Body Cam Video #2 / Independent Police Review Authority
Paul O'Neal, the unarmed, black 18-year-old who was fatally shot by police in July, was killed by a single gunshot wound to the back, according to an autopsy released on Wednesday by the Cook Count medical examiner’s office. The report also revealed that O’Neal did not have drugs in his system.
An officer shot and killed O’Neal on July 28. O'Neal rammed a police car and sideswiped a parked vehicle while driving an allegedly stolen Jaguar near East 74th Street and South Merrill Avenue. An officer then shot him in the back when he left the car and fled. Two officers had fired into the car without hitting O’Neal before the third officer fired the fatal shot.
The autopsy findings make official what could partially be seen in videos released by the Independent Police Review Authority on Aug. 5. Footage from police body cams and dash cams document the incident before and after the fatal shooting. (The officer who killed O’Neal was wearing a body camera, but it was not turned on during the shooting—a fact which has caused some controversy.) O’Neal is seen in videos after being shot, facedown against the concrete, with his back bloodied.
The report also states that the officer, "believing the shots being fired were coming from O’Neal, fired his Glock 9mm handgun five times in an attempt to stop the threat." O’Neal was in fact unarmed, and the shots fired were those of fellow officers.
The police response has been heavily criticized (including from some in law enforcement). As the Tribune points out, CPD policy prohibits officers from firing into a car if it is "the lone threat."
Per department policy, the officers involved were stripped of police powers and placed on administrative leave.