Chicago Cop Fired After Repeatedly Shooting At Wrong Vehicle In 2011

By Stephen Gossett in News on Feb 17, 2017 7:45PM

Getty Images; Photo: Scott Olson

A Chicago police officer was fired on Thursday over a 2011 off-duty incident in which he fired 16 shots at the wrong car outside La Pasadita restaurant, in East Ukrainian Village.

Officer Francisco Perez was dismissed after a unanimous, 8-0 vote came down from the Chicago Police Board.

Perez had “failed to identify the appropriate target prior to discharging his firearm,” board president Lori Lightfoot told the Sun-Times, one of the factors the factors that contributed to the panel’s determination. The board concluded that Perez did not properly identify the correct target and failed to take “reasonable precautions” ahead of discharging his gun, Lightfoot told the Tribune, which broke the news of the firing. The Police Board did not immediately return a request for comment.

Back in 2015, the city’s police oversight agency, the Independent Police Review Authority, recommended Perez be fired. It was the first time the IPRA had ever recommended the dismissal of an officer.

Perez, a CPD officer since 1999, witnessed a drive-by while working security for La Pasadita, in the 1100 block of North Ashland Avenue. A red car opened fire after pulling up to a blue car that was parked near the restaurant. Perez mistakenly fired shots into the blue car, striking and wounding the driver in the back.