We don’t want to watch them, but we also need to watch them — the police officer body camera videos of fatal shootings, another released Wednesday of 22-year-old Anthony Alvarez, who was shot and killed by Chicago police on March 31.
We need to watch them because without body cameras, which police unions here and elsewhere fought hard against, we would not know. We need to watch them because our eyes don’t lie, even when police-issued statements in the past have. We need to watch them so we are bombarded with the drastic and urgent need for change in how police officers are trained to respond to traffic stops that escalate, to fast-moving foot pursuits and to suspects who may be armed, even if they seem to pose no immediate threat.
The videos are graphic. Be forewarned. They are painful.
But we need to watch because it might be the only way we arrive at a day when, hopefully, there is nothing to watch.
We don’t know the particulars about Alvarez’s encounter with police or what led up to the moment an officer opened fire. That’s the job of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which released the video and which will conduct a full investigation into the shooting.
“Today, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability released video and other materials of the fatal officer-involved shooting that took place on March 31, 2021, near 5200 W. Eddy Street. Based upon information obtained in the early stages of the investigation, COPA has recommended the Chicago Police Officer who discharged his weapon, fatally injuring Mr. Alvarez, be relieved of police powers during the pendency of this investigation,” the statement from COPA reads.
“Chicago Police Department (CPD) tactical officers attempted to stop and speak with Mr. Anthony Alvarez — an individual familiar to the officers. Mr. Alvarez fled as officers approached, leading to a foot pursuit by the officers. During the brief foot pursuit, officers made verbal commands to Mr. Alvarez to drop the weapon. A Chicago Police Officer fired his weapon multiple times, fatally injuring Mr. Alvarez.”
Police Superintendent David Brown said the department is moving quickly toward a new foot-pursuit policy. But it’s already years overdue. The city’s federal consent decree from the U.S. Department of Justice warned that Chicago police needed a strict, clear protocol when officers chase suspects on foot. We’re still waiting. It’s unacceptable.
While pro-law enforcement groups and police unions have long suggested cooperation from those they encounter — don’t resist, don’t run, follow instructions — is the only safe way to interact with police, the cases we’ve seen recently also show how mere seconds on the clock and confusion can mean life or death. Even as suspects might try to comply with police orders, to slow down, to give up, to drop a weapon, they can be struck down.
And then panic ensues. We saw it again with the Alvarez video. Police couldn’t seem to get backup or an ambulance to the scene quickly enough. They struggled to open plastic wound patches and first-aid kits as the seconds ticked by.
As Mayor Lori Lightfoot said: “We can’t live in a world where a minor traffic offense results in someone being shot and killed. That’s not acceptable to me and it shouldn’t be acceptable to anyone.”
Body cameras have shown us the terribly violent deaths that have occurred in our city at the hands of Chicago police. They also have shown us the harrowing, dangerous job of policing and the decisions that officers make, right or wrong, because they, too, want to make it back home after their shifts. Our city can be a dangerous place for both of them.
We don’t want to watch. But we need to.
