The family of a 17-year-old boy fatally shot by a Chicago police officer earlier this year has filed a federal lawsuit against the officer and the city, alleging excessive force and wrongful death.
Michael Elam Jr. was shot and killed by the officer on Feb. 16 in the 2100 block of South Keeler.
“Not an hour goes by where I don’t think about Michael and what he would doing if he were alive,” Elam’s mother, Alice Martin, said in a statement. “I still cannot believe that he is truly gone. Our whole family is heartbroken.”
A press conference with Martin and her attorneys is scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
Before the shooting, Elam was in the front passenger seat of a car that officers tried to pull over for traffic violations.
At the time, police said the driver refused to stop and soon after crashed into a nearby fence.
After the crash, Elam and the others in the car tried to run away. An officer then opened fire on him, striking him in the head and back.
Police said that Elam was armed and two guns were recovered from the scene, but the lawsuit contends he was unarmed.
Police Involved Shooting - 2100 S. KEELER. Offender shot by police following an altercation. PIO responding and details to follow. pic.twitter.com/Lf2xuvg6w0
— Anthony Guglielmi (@AJGuglielmi) February 17, 2019
The complaint goes on to allege that the two officers who were pursuing the car waited more five minutes to call an ambulance for Elam after he was shot.
City records show the officer alleged in the lawsuit to have fired the fatal shots joined the CPD in 2014 and has never been accused of misconduct. The suit also claims the officer’s body-worn camera was never on during the brief pursuit and shooting.
The four-count lawsuit alleges excessive force and wrongful death.
