Chicago officials release edited body cam footage of Harith Augustus’ fatal encounter with police
TheGrio has launched a special series called #BlackonBlue to examine the relationship between law enforcement and African-Americans. Our reporters and videographers will investigate police brutality and corruption while also exploring local and national efforts to improve policing in our communities. Join the conversation, or share your own story, using the hashtag #BlackonBlue.
Yesterday police released body cam video of Harith Augustus, the 37-year-old barber who was fatally shot and killed by police over the weekend.
—Police seeking man who slapped his toddler and pulled knife on subway train—
Police officers allege that they noticed Augustus with a bulge at his waist that they suspected could be a gun, claims Fred Waller, chief of patrol for the Chicago Police Department, told The New York Times.
In the edited video, released Sunday by the Chicago Police Department, at least four cops can be seen confronting Augustus on the city’s South Side. The officer sees a gun holstered in Augustus’ waist, points to it and backs away. Three officers attempted to grab the man’s arms. He tries to get away, when he backs into a police cruiser and his shirts flies up, exposing his gun.
The footage then zooms in on the weapon. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said on Sunday they wanted to show that Augustus was packing a semi-automatic handgun in its holster with two bullet magazines tucked into Augustus’ waist.
Augustus tries to flee. Police contend that he then tried to reach into his waist.
Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson ordered the release to put to rest the rumors that Augustus was unarmed, Guglielmi said in a statement on Twitter.
“The community needs some answers and they need them now,” Johnson told reporters Sunday. “We can’t have another night like last night.”
—Barack Obama arrives in Kenya to help launch sister’s sports center—
Some people at the scene alleged that a female police officer shot Augustus at least five times in the back while he ran away, the Chicago SunTimes reported. The officer was reportedly taken from the scene in a police vehicle as the crowd began to form.
Chicago Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi discounted those reports, saying that the officer who shot Augustus was a man.
Augustus was taken to Jackson Park Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The protests
The fatal police shooting prompted protests over the weekend with people chanting “murderers” and no justice, no peace.”
Others chanted, “Who do you serve? Who do you protected?”
The tension escalated later in the evening as police advanced and tried to push protesters back from the scene, hitting at least six people with batons, prompting some protesters to punch back at police.
“We just want to live,” the Sun-Times quoted one woman protester as saying. “Our Black kids keep getting killed. We just want to live.”
Four people were arrested, according to Guglielmi, three for felony charges.
