Jan. 26--Quintonio LeGrier called 911 three times on the morning after Christmas to seek help from Chicago police shortly before he was shot and killed by an officer who responded to his father's West Side residence, according to newly released recordings by the Independent Police Review Authority.
"I need to talk to an officer," LeGrier, 19, identifying himself only as "Q," told a dispatcher. "Someone's threatening my life."
Minutes later, LeGrier was fatally shot by Officer Robert Rialmo outside his father's residence in the 4700 block of West Erie Street after allegedly swinging a baseball bat at the officer. Bettie Jones, 55, another resident in the building, was fatally shot by the same officer in what police have called an accident.
IPRA, the city agency that investigates shootings involving Chicago police officers, released four 911 calls on Monday afternoon. The younger LeGrier made three of the calls just minutes apart from one another, and his father, Antonio LeGrier, made the fourth call.
His breathing heavy and panicked, the father told a dispatcher his son was armed with a bat and he needed the help of police.
The Tribune has previously reported that a male caller who identified himself as "Q" told a dispatcher that someone in the residence was threatening his life but that the caller refused to answer questions.
But on Monday, IPRA disclosed that the city's Office of Emergency Management and Communications recently provided IPRA with two earlier calls by the younger LeGrier before the shooting. Officers did not respond to those earlier calls, IPRA's Chief Administrator Sharon Fairley said in a statement.
jgorner@tribpub.com
