Off-duty police officer involved in Albany Park shooting relieved of duties while COPA investigates
CHICAGO - A Chicago police officer has been stripped of police powers after shooting a man during an off-duty confrontation late Friday in the Albany Park neighborhood on the Northwest Side, officials said.
The officer wasn’t working when he heard gunshots “and approached an occupied parked vehicle” about 10:45 p.m. in the 3300 block of West Irving Park, according to a statement from Chicago police.
He then got into a “confrontation” with the people in the vehicle and fired his weapon, hitting a man in the hand, police said.
The wounded man was taken to Swedish Hospital for treatment and later placed into custody “pending further investigation,” police said. He was later released without charges.
The officer was not injured, but taken to a hospital for observation.
The police department issued a statement Saturday afternoon announcing Supt. David Brown had “relieved” the officer of police powers as the Civilian Office of Police Accountability investigates the incident. That independent agency is responsible for probing the use of police force and potential misconduct.
Typically, officers who are involved in shootings are reassigned to administrative duty for 30 days, which the department, in their initial statement, said was the plan in this case.
Police did not say what caused Brown to make the unusual decision to strip the officer of powers pending the COPA investigation.
“Based upon early investigative results and after consulting with the Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department (CPD), COPA supports the Superintendent’s decision to relieve the involved officer of his police powers,” a spokesman for the agency said.
Any potential video or other materials related to the shooting will be released within 60 days under COPA policy.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call COPA at (312) 746-3609.