Bodycam video shows Chicago police finding guns in Iowa man's downtown hotel room
CHICAGO - Chicago police released bodycam video showing the moment officers uncovered a stash of guns inside a hotel overlooking Navy Pier.
The discovery prompted concerns about what they could have been used for during the crowded July 4 weekend.
Cleaning staff at the W Hotel discovered what Mayor Lightfoot later described as "weapons of war" in a 12th-floor room overlooking Navy Pier and Ohio Street Beach. The discovery left many wondering if it was a thwarted mass shooting or an honest mistake by the gun owner.
The bodycam video, which was released after a FOIA request by FOX 32, shows the July 4 arrest of 32-year-old Keegan Casteel of Iowa, who was later charged with two felony counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon for bringing a loaded semi automatic rifle, five clips of ammunition and a loaded .45-caliber handgun into his hotel room at the W.
Police Supt. David Brown said one of the firearms was found "in a very suspicious position."
"Where's it at?" the responding officer is heard saying in the video.
"I have a permit for it," Casteel is heard replying.
After being placed in handcuffs in front of his girlfriend and children, Casteel is then heard telling the responding officer that his son had been injured and hospitalized the night before they left for Chicago, leading him to pack in a hurry and forget to unload all the firearms from his gun range bag.
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"Why didn't you leave your firearms at home?" says the responding officer.
"Cause it was my gun bag. It was late at night. I emptied most of it out. But those were two of them...[they] were in, like, the side, like, steep side..." Casteel is heard replying.
The responding officer is later heard saying, "When you're travelling anywhere--especially with firearms--you gotta do your research to see if you can bring them here. I know for a fact in this hotel, there's stickers on the doors when you walk in [saying] 'zero firearms' when you walk in. Only a police officer can come in here with firearms."
Casteel's attorney released a statement saying his client was in town to propose to his girlfriend on the Navy Pier Ferris Wheel. That proposal ended up happening right outside the Cook County Jail, where Casteel spent the night after being taken into custody.
In the video, Casteel appears to cooperate with officers from the beginning.
"I mean, I understand the situation completely," he says while handcuffed.
Last week, Casteel's attorney released a statement saying he is licensed to have the guns, was within his Second Amendment rights and that he looks forward to defending Casteel in a court of law.