Man shot by Chicago police after breaking into CPD facility through fire escape, chief says
Man shot by Chicago cop after climbing fire escape to break into police facility: officials
A Waukegan man in his 30’s was shot by police Monday after using a fire escape to gain entry to a Chicago police facility in Homan Square, then grabbing at least two guns he found on a table and aiming them at officers, the chief said.
CHICAGO - A Waukegan man in his 30’s was shot by police Monday after using a fire escape to gain entry to a Chicago police facility in Homan Square, then grabbing at least two guns he found on a table and aiming them at officers, the chief said.
Police Superintendent David Brown said the shooting happened around 11:30 a.m. on the fifth floor of the police department’s facility at 1011 S. Homan Ave.
Brown said the suspect was seen on surveillance video speaking to a guard outside the facility, and asked where he could go to retrieve personal property at the facility, which houses the police department’s Evidence and Recovered Property Section.
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Brown said it has not been determined if the suspect went to the building to retrieve property, saying that the man had an extensive criminal record. It wasn't immediately clear if property taken from the man was stored in the building.
After officers directed him to the facility's public entrance, the man disregarded those directions and used various objects to pull down a ladder to the building's fire escape, Brown said.
The man then climbed to the fifth floor, where a door had been propped open to provide ventilation to officers inside, who were in the middle of a SWAT training exercise, Brown said.
Brown said the man grabbed at least two guns that were on a table during the training exercise and pointed them at officers. He said he did not know if the man attempted to shoot officers with the guns, which didn't have live ammunition in them at the time.
Brown speculated on what officers in the training room saw as the man entered the room.
"These were guns that were being watched," he said. "Obviously, someone coming from a stairwell outside startled everyone. Who is this person? Is this person associated with the training? We do have live actors sometimes who come in plainclothes."
He also said that it was likely the officers said something to the man when they spotted him, but that, "We just don't know what the offender said."
The man was taken to Stroger Hospital with injuries not considered to be life-threatening, according to Brown. An officer who suffered a sprained ankle during the incident was taken to Mount Sinai Medical Center in good condition, Brown said.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability is investigating the incident and the officer involved will be placed on routine administrative duties for 30 days.
The Homan Square compound also serves as a hub for undercover operations and the counterterrorism bureau.
The facility earned a shadowy reputation after the Guardian published a series of stories in 2015 likening it to a CIA "black site" where suspects have allegedly been "disappeared" and subjected to off-the-books questioning and abuse.
The department pushed back on the Guardian’s claims at the time, saying it "abides by all laws, rules and guidelines pertaining to any interviews of suspects or witnesses, at Homan Square or any other CPD facility."
Still, the department has faced a series of lawsuits over alleged abuse at the facility, and activists have demanded it closed.
The Sun-Times Media Wire and Associated Press contributed to this report.