WARNING-GRAPHIC VIDEO: Chicago cop fatally shoots suspected kidnapper in Belmont Central

CHICAGO - The Civilian Office of Police Accountability released video Friday of a Chicago police officer fatally shooting a suspected kidnapper on the Northwest Side.

The body camera video shows an officer confronting a man July 8 in an apartment in the Belmont Central neighborhood.

After partially entering the room, the police officer yells, “Don’t move. Chicago police. Don’t move,” the video shows.

The suspect, reclined on the sofa, leans forward, yells something inaudible and begins to turn over, the video shows. As the suspect places his hand near an apparent handgun on the edge of the sofa, the officer lets off several shots, and the suspect falls to the ground.

He died later at Illinois Masonic Medical Center, police said.

Ephraim Eaddy, a COPA spokesman, said the investigation into the officer’s actions is ongoing.

The suspected kidnapper, 42-year-old Luis E. Vasquez, had allegedly carjacked two people the night before in the west suburbs, police have said. He drove the man and woman — both in their 40s — to the 6200 block of West Grand Avenue and held them against their will inside an apartment, police said.

They were handcuffed, but escaped their captor while he was sleeping, police said. An off-duty officer driving nearby saw them at 6:45 a.m. and learned that they had been kidnapped. He called for backup.

Body camera video shows a fatal encounter between Chicago police and an alleged kidnapper on July 8, 2019 in Belmont Central. | COPA

Officers arrived shortly after and attempted to enter the suspected kidnapper’s building, police said. Video shows them attempting to unlock a front gate, but ultimately jumping a fence and entering through the rear porch. After checking several empty rooms, the officer confronted Vasquez upstairs.

It was unclear why Vasquez had allegedly kidnapped his victims. In a statement, Elgin police said that Vasquez knew them.

The officer who fired the shots was placed on 30-day desk duty, per protocol, police said. COPA, which investigates shootings involving Chicago police officers, is required to release video relevant to an investigation within 60 days of the incident.