Chicago cop indicted for shooting at black teens in car
A Chicago police officer was indicted for an incident that was caught on police dashboard camera in which he fired at a car full of teens and wounded two.
A Chicago police officer was indicted for an incident that was caught on police dashboard camera in which he fired at a car full of teenagers and wounded two of them.
The officer, Marco Proano, was charged on Thursday with two counts of deprivation of rights under color of law for allegedly using unreasonable force with a dangerous weapon, according to U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon.
“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,” Fardon said.
“Our office will continue to independently and vigorously pursue civil rights prosecutions to hold officers accountable and strengthen trust in the police.”
While the statement released by Fardon did not contain details of the Dec. 22, 2013, incident, the Chicago Tribune reported on the shooting incident at the time, stating that police had justified the shooting by saying that Proano was concerned for the safety of one of the car passengers, who was being dragged along by the vehicle as he tried to get out of it.
The decision comes after a lawsuit was brought against the city by the mothers of the injured teens, with the city settling for $360,000.
