Chicago, IL — A deeply
troubling police dash cam video has been kept from the public by the city of
Chicago which showed CPD officer Marco Proano, fire into a car occupied by six
unarmed teenagers. Police did not want the public to see this video.
City lawyers successfully
convinced a federal judge to put the video under the protective order, which
prevented parties to the lawsuit from releasing it publicly. However, after
watching the video, Retired Cook County Judge Andrew Berman was so disturbed
that he leaked it to The Chicago Reporter. Neither Berman nor the Reporter are
subject to the order.
“I’ve seen lots of gruesome,
grisly crimes,” said. Berman. “But this is disturbing on a whole different
level.”
In March, the teens won a
federal lawsuit against the city and three police officers, using the video as
the center of their case. The city has yet to pay out the $360,000.
According to The Chicago
Reporter, The city’s Independent Police Review Authority, known as IPRA, has
not completed its investigation of the incident 18 months later. FBI officials
would neither confirm nor deny a Chicago Sun-Times report that the agency is
investigating the shooting.
In the video, Proano shoots
into a moving car of six unarmed teenagers. Two of the teenagers were shot –
one in the shoulder and the other in the left hip and right heel, according to
court documents.
CPD’s policy prohibits officers
from firing at moving vehicles that are not a threat. The teens in the car
posed zero threat to the Proano, who jumped out of his cruiser and immediately
unloaded his weapon into multiple unarmed teenagers.
After the shooting police
discovered that the car was stolen. However, the teen was found not guilty
after the prosecutors were unable to prove he knew the car was stolen. Even if
they had stolen this vehicle, the actions by OfficerProano would not have been
justified.
Proano has yet to face even
a slap on the wrist. He was never disciplined and remains an active member of
the Chicago Police DepartmentTHESE COMPANIES ARE SUPPORTING THE POLICE GAMES SPONSORED BY THE FAIRFAX COUNTY POLICE
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