Johnson says no audio on two video recordings of the fatal police shooting of Harith Augustus
Video of the fatal police shooting of a barber in the South Shore neighborhood last weekend was captured by two officers’
body cameras, but the footage does not include an audio recording of what happened at the scene,
Chicago policeSuperintendent
Eddie Johnson said Tuesday.
Police had previously released a silent video from the body camera of the probationary officer who fatally shot 37-year-old Harith Augustus on Saturday. The second video is from another officer who was with him. At least two other officers were also at the scene, but it’s unclear whether their cameras captured audio of the fatal shooting.
“The material that everybody wants to see, when the investigation is wrapped up, when they’re complete, they’ll get that material,” Mayor
Rahm Emanuel said, referencing the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, or COPA. “I think this material that the superintendent of the police department released provided for the right reasons of public safety the information but … it’s not complete. That will happen in due time.”
A probationary police officer shot Augustus on Saturday in the 2000 block of East 71st Street near the barbershop where he worked. Johnson has said officers approached Augustus because they believed he was armed.
Augustus had a firearm owner’s identification card, but the department has not found evidence he had a concealed carry license, Johnson said.
Because there is no sound accompanying the footage, it is unclear what exchanges occurred between Augustus and police in the seconds before the shooting.
Emanuel, speaking publicly Tuesday for the first time since the shooting, declined to say whether he thought officers acted appropriately. The mayor said he would wait for COPA to complete its investigation before taking a position.
“I don’t think at this point while they’re doing that my energy’s going to be on trying to characterize something, so much as help all of us learn from this and learn for the future,” Emanuel said while speaking to reporters at Police Headquarters after a ceremony to retire the badges of officers who died in the line of duty.
Johnson said the body camera video footage from two officers who were involved in the shooting did not include audio because of how the police body camera technology works and how the officers utilized it.
Typically, the audio doesn’t start recording until after an officer double-taps on the device, Johnson said. Once an officer double-taps, the prior 30 seconds of video get saved and the audio recording starts at that point. The officers in this case didn’t double-tap the device until after the shooting took place, Johnson said.
Chicago Police Department spokesman Thomas Ahern said officials are not yet sure whether other officers on the scene, besides those involved in the shooting, might have captured additional footage or audio. Still, it will be up to COPA, not the Police Department, to release further video or audio if it exists, Ahern said.
But Ahern said the two officers involved in the shooting did not violate department rules by initiating the audio so late in their encounter with Augustus. He pointed to a department rule that says if circumstances prevent an officer from double-tapping the device immediately when they begin a “law enforcement activity” such as an investigatory stop of a resident, they should do so “as soon as practical.”
“The first order of business is to protect themselves, their partners and other people in the area,” Ahern said. “They’re not going to stop a situation to activate their cameras.”
The mayor has spent years trying to rebuild the public’s trust in the Chicago Police Department since the late 2015 court-ordered release of a video showing a white police officer fatally shooting black teen Laquan McDonald. Part of that is his attempt to negotiate a court-backed Police Department consent decree that the Fraternal Order of Police regards with deep suspicion.
In the McDonald case, a court ordered
City Hall to release the video more than a year after it occurred.
Meanwhile, the trial date for Jason Van Dyke, the officer charged with first-degree murder in McDonald’s death, was set Tuesday for Sept. 5, just as the mayoral campaign kicks into high gear.
As he heads into that tough re-election fight with 10 announced challengers, Emanuel is also attempting the delicate task of convincing rank-and-file police officers he’s not going to throw them under the bus to score political points. The latest incident could make that balancing act more difficult. He tried to strike a conciliatory tone Tuesday.
“I want people to express themselves, and how they feel strongly about the future of the city,” Emanuel said. “And I want people to hear what officers are facing in trying to do their jobs. I want officers to hear what community leaders are saying, and I got to be honest, I want you guys to all hear what officers feel.”
Emanuel’s comments Tuesday came a day after several candidates challenging him for mayor spoke out about the incident. While they praised the speed with which Johnson released the video footage, some questioned why there was no audio and whether the shooting should have happened.
Mayoral candidate
Garry McCarthy, the city’s former top cop when the McDonald shooting occurred, issued a statement Monday calling the incident a “tragedy.”
“At first blush, this shooting appears to be justified, based on what we see in that video, and I'm pleased with its quick release. We are hoping that a thorough investigation gives us the truth as to what happened,” McCarthy said. “But let us also be clear that the shooting victim refused to comply with the officers. He appears to reach for a gun. At that point, he leaves the officers with little to no choice but to shoot in defense of their own lives.”
Lori Lightfoot, another of Emanuel’s announced opponents, called Augustus’ death a “tragedy” but did not address whether she believed the shooting was justified. Emanuel also picked Lightfoot to lead the Police Board, which is in charge of making final decisions on the discipline of officers, and to co-chair the Police Accountability Task Force, which made recommendations for police reforms in the wake of the McDonald controversy.
“It is critically important that the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) move forward swiftly, independently, and thoroughly in its investigation. The public has the absolute right to understand all of the circumstances that led to the use of deadly force against Mr. Augustus,” Lightfoot said. “Superintendent Johnson made a wise decision in releasing a body camera video expeditiously. Consistent with policies recommended by the Police Accountability Task Force and adopted by the city in February of 2016, all relevant videotapes, audio, and initial police reports must be released as soon as possible, balancing the importance of the integrity of the COPA investigation.”
Following the shooting Saturday, a large crowd gathered at the scene and prompted widespread unrest. Officers wielded batons after some protesters threw projectiles. There have been peaceful protests in the areas in the days since.
Within 24 hours, police released video footage, without sound, taken from the probationary officer’s body camera that appears to show Augustus wearing a holstered handgun at his side. Augustus appears to be having a calm discussion with an officer and appears to open his wallet before other officers surround him. He appears to break away from officers and move his hand toward his waistband after one officer grabs his wrist. Nevertheless, community members have called for the police department to release additional recordings, saying that what’s been released is incomplete and raises additional questions. The lack of audio has also been a point of contention.
