CHICAGO _ A fatal shooting by Chicago police Saturday afternoon fueled a violent clash between officers and a large crowd of onlookers who threw bottles and rocks as officers hit back with clubs.
The shooting happened around 5:30 p.m. CDT on the South Side, and police took about five hours to bring the ensuing disturbance under control. Some people screamed "murderers" as officers lined up against them. Some in the crowd held cameras up to take video, while others behind them threw rocks and glass bottles, some filled with urine.
As officers tried to contain the crowd, some of them dragged people to the ground or struck them with clubs. Other officers held clubs over their heads to ward off people yelling at them.
A Chicago Sun-Times reporter said he was hit by officers who rushed a parking lot. "I have my press badge on and identified myself as a reporter, but I got shoved to the ground by two cops who smacked my phone out of my hand," Nader Issa posted on Twitter.
Around 10:30 p.m., Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said officers had "cleared the crime scene."
"Four officers were injured from rocks and thrown bottles," he said. "Four demonstrators were arrested." Two police cars were damaged.
Misdemeanor charges were pending Sunday morning against one of the demonstrators, said Officer Ronald Westbrooks, another police spokesman.
"There were glass bottles thrown ... plastic water bottles. Bottles filled with urine were thrown at officers," Guglielmi said.
The shooting occurred after patrol officers on foot saw a man who was "exhibiting characteristics of an armed person," Guglielmi said. "He looked like he may have something on him. They go to question him, and at that point a confrontation ensues and he is shot.''
He had no details of the confrontation, but said the man was shot several times and was pronounced dead at Jackson Park Hospital. A gun and two ammunition magazines were recovered, Guglielmi said.
