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Recently released body camera footage shows that a Chicago cop fired a single shot in the back of a 24-year-old black man as he tried to flee and his family is calling for justice in what they call an unjustified killing.
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On June 6, Maurice Granton Jr, 24, was gunned down as Chicago police pursued him on foot but video released by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability on Wednesday showed the father of two was unarmed and shot in the back as he ran away, reports the Daily Mail.
In one video, as an officer pursues Granton, he fires his gun as Granton runs toward a fence and he gets hit in the back by a single shot.
Granton can be seen on the ground rolling around in pain as the officer yells “stay down.” The officer then directs other cops who arrive in the scene to find the gun Granton allegedly had: “There’s a weapon right there! There’s a weapon right there,” the officer repeatedly yells.
An autopsy determined that Granton did in fact die from a gunshot wound to the back.
The police argue that Granton was caught in the middle of a drug transaction. And they later confirmed that a weapon was found about 20 feet from Granton.
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The family of Maurice Granton Jr hired an attorney Andrew M. Stroth who said the body camera video contradicts the claim by police that there was an armed confrontation before the shooting.
A police spokesman for the Chicago Police department said they are “fully cooperating” with the investigation. The officer who fatally shot Granton has since been placed on 30-day administrative leave.