Chicago Cop Indicted For Shooting At Unarmed Black Teens In 2013

By Jen Chung in News on Sep 16, 2016 9:15PM

The Chicago police officer who fired upon a group of unarmed black teenagers three years ago has been indicted on federal civil rights charges. U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon said, "When a police officer uses unreasonable force, it has a harmful effect on not only the victims, but also the public, who lose faith and confidence in law enforcement."

Marco Proano, 41, was charged with two counts of deprivation of rights under color of law for the December 22, 2013 incident. A retired Cook County judge was so disturbed by what happened that he shared this alarming video with the Chicago Reporter:

The video shows Proano aiming his gun at the teens' car, which had been pulled over for speeding at 95th and LaSalle streets. A lawsuit from the teens claimed he fired at least a dozen times, and two teens were injured.

The indictment is noteworthy because it's "first time that federal authorities have brought charges against a Chicago police officer for a shooting in the past 15 years," the Chicago Tribune reports, adding, "A Chicago Tribune investigation published last month found that Chicago police had shot 702 people — killing 215 — in the past 15 years, yet no officers had been charged by federal authorities in any of those shootings."

Last year, Proano was found guilty of fatally shooting a 19-year-old man in 2011 without justification, but a judge reversed the jury's $3.5 million award to the victim's family.

Timothy Fiscella, the attorney for the teens, said to the Sun-Times, "Obviously, we are happy to hear the news. For my clients, it’s a relief that the officer’s conduct is going to be judged, that there is going to be some accountability for Officer Proano. I am happy the U.S. attorney’s office is getting aggressive about these cases."