OFFICE OF THE STATE’S ATTORNEY COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS Ms. Sharon Fairley December 7, 2015 Acting Chief Administrator, Independent Police Review Authority Mr. John Escalante Acting Superintendent Chicago Police Department Re: Investigation into the shooting of Ronald JohnsonSummary of the Incident In the early morning hours of October 12, 2014, Ronald Johnson was at a party in an apartment near 53" Street and King Drive. Johnson left the party with luals A, Band C. The group got into Individual A’s car and drove west on 53" Street. Individual ‘A was driving, Individual C was in the front passenger seat, Individual B was in the back passenger seat and Johnson was in the back seat behind the driver. Before the car reached Calumet Avenue, multiple gunshots were fired at the car. At least one bullet caused the back window of Individual A’s car to break and there was additional bullet damage to the passenger side door and mirror as well as to the front windshield. Shortly after the gunshots, Individual A heard the cocking of a semi-automatic pistol from the backseat of the car, similar to the sound he has heard in movies when a bullet is chambered into a semi-automatic gun. At the direction of one of the other occupants, Individual A tumed north on Prairie Avenue and then turned east on 51%After Individual A parked his car, he exited and began to walk north on King. At that time he was stopped by Officers Phillip Hooper and Grant Monte, The officers approached him and asked him to show his hands, which were in his dark hoodie. Individual A then told the officers that his car window had been shot out. The officers radioed this information and began to take a police report from Individual A. ‘As Sergeant Michael Costello was driving northbound in the alley west of King Drive south of 53 Street, he observed a male black (now known as Ronald Johnson) wearing dark clothing at the mouth of the alley at 53 Street. Johnson looked in Costello’s direction and ran westbound and entered a vacant Jot at that location. Costello drove his marked squad car westbound and entered the vacant lot. Johnson then changed direction and ran eastbound back toward King Drive. At that time, Officers Tajuana Hurt and Barbara Gilliana were driving a marked Chevy Tahoe west on 53" as they monitoredMonte drew their weapons and ordered Johnson to stép and drop the gun. As Johnson slowed down, Officer Hooper re-holstered his weapon and attempted to grab Johnson. However, Johnson was able to break free of Hooper’s grasp and Hooper fell to the ground. Johnson then tured and ran north on King Drive in the direction of Sergeant Costello and Officer Gilliana, with Officers Hooper and Monte giving chase. As Johnson was struggling with Hooper, an unmarked car containing Officers Manuel Leano, Officer Robert Gonzalez and Officer George Hernandez was driving south on King. The unmarked car stopped at that corner of 53" and King, facing south as Johnson was running north, All three officers exited the car with their guns drawn. Officer Hernandez exited from the rear driver’s side of the car. At this time, multiple officers had their guns drawn and pointed at Johnson as officers ordered Johnson to stop and drop his gun. Instead, Johnson ran behind the car that Hernandez exited and began to zens Dalgit iatAfter Johnson was shot, Officer Hernandez recovered a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun from Johnson’s right hand. There was a clump of grass stuck in the slide of the gun. This gun was loaded with twelve live rounds including three Tula brand cartridges. A live Tula brand unfired bullet was also recovered from the backseat of Individual A’s car in the area that Johnson had been sitting. Ballisties testing by the Illinois State Police Crime Lab linked the gun to a 2013 crime in which one person was shot near 56" and Green in Chicago. Johnson was taken by ambulance to the University of Chicago Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy conducted by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office showed that he died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds and that the manner of death was homicide. Dashboard Camera Video In addition to the officers mentioned above, Officers F a Calvin were assigned to a marked CPD Tahoe (Beat 233R) in. and Abraham was the er. They res ded to th12:34:57 the unmarked vehicle with Officers Hooper and Grant turns into the southbound lane of King Drive and parks diagonally facing northwest, in the southbound lane of King Drive. 12:35:03 Officers Hooper and Monte exit the unmarked vehicle and approach a lone subject, Individual A, who was standing near a CTA Bus Stop booth. (Note: Individual A’s maroon vehicle is out of the camera angle but was parked on the street in front of the white vehicle which is shown in the footage. Additionally, the interaction between the officers and Individual A is blocked by the frame of the bus stop booth). 12:35:50 Beat 233R pulled away and proceeded to drive northbound on King Drive. (Note: the vehicle pulled away in response to flash messages that officers were chasing Johnson) 12:35:53 Ronald Johnson runs around the building on the southwest corner of 53" and King Drive and runs south on King Drive. Johnson’s left hand appears to be near his waistband. His right hand/arm appears to be swinging freely. 12:35:58 Officer Gilliana and Sergeant Costello chase Johnson around the comer while on foot, (Note: Johnson’s physical interaction with Hooper is not, captured on the footage because it took place close to the bus stop booth) 12:36:00 an unmarked vehicle occupied by Of Hernandez. pulls up from the southbound lane of ‘southwest corner of what is now known to be 53" an12:36:14 Several officers converge on the area where Johnson lay on the grassy area on the east side of King Drive (the footage does not depict Johnson laying in the grass since it is outside of the camera angle). The Chicago Police Department delivered a copy of the dashboard camera video to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory. At the RCFL, FBI forensic investigator Paul Rettig processed the video in an attempt to provide a clearer view of the events. Still imagery from the processed dash camera video does not clearly show the pistol in Johnson’s right hand. There were no audio recordings captured by the dash cam. The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office gave a copy of the video to the Federal Bureau of Investigation on November 20, 2014. Shortly thereafter the FBI deferred to IPRA as the proper agency abuts to investigate this matter. Se aieIt should be noted that the timestamps on the OEMC recordings and the timestamps on the dashboard camera do not match. It is unclear the exact time difference or which, if either, timestamp is correct. ZONE TRANSMISSIONS Beat 240R (Sgt. Bacheleder) reported that he was in the 2" District parking lot and heard what sounded like seven or eight shots directly east of his location. The dispatcher broadcast that information over the radio as “loud reports just east of the station 51 and Wentworth,” The dispatcher asked unit 235R (Officers Hurt and Gilliana) to check out the shots fired ticket at 346 E, 53" Street and that an anonymous caller just said that five shots were heard and that three males with hoods just walked past, and were last seen headed eastbound.Beat 4527B (Officers Liss and Jones) indicate they are “out here as well.” The dispatcher asks who else was riding out to 4527B and 33R (Officers Abraham and Calvin Beat 233R) responded that they were over there as well. The dispatcher then transmitted the following: “Alright units responding to that shots fired we're now getting a person with a gun ticket 5352 King, 5352 South King anonymous caller says the men with guns who ran into the buildings said the entrance is around the corner said two to three men ran in, For the units in two for the units on citywide for that shots fired ticket, we're now getting a person with a gun ticket 5352 South King, 5352 South King. Anonymous caller said the men with guns who ran around the building said the entrance is around the corner said two to three men ran in, Nothing further. Zone 5 is clear.” A voice stated “5352 is the school on King Drive” to which the dispatcher responded, “yeah it was an anonymous caller just said 5352 King.” Beat 241R (Officers Hooper and Monte) then inform the dispatcher, “Yeah we got windows shot out over here on a car approximately 5312 King.” ‘The Dispatcher repeats “Okay windows shot out at 5312 South King.” There is then a partially inaudible radio communication followed by ‘ blue hoody running eastbound on 53“ towards King”An autopsy was performed by Dr. Ariel Goldschmidt of the Medical Examiner's Office. (Report #2014-00931) Dr. Goldschmidt opined that Johnson died as the result of multiple gunshot wounds and ruled that the manner of death was homicide, He noted multiple gunshot wounds involving the head, neck, torso, and right lower extremity. Specifically, he noted that the wounds were distant range gunshot wounds, One gunshot entered the back of his right knée where it remained lodged. A second gunshot entered the back of Johnson’s right armpit and exited near his left eye. The lodged, medium- caliber, copper-jacketed bullet was recovered. The medical examiner also conducted toxicological testing and diagnosed Johnson with alcohol intoxication. Dr. Goldschmidt informed IPRA investigators that Johnson had old gunshot wounds about the body and he iat recovered an old bullet from Johnson's left hand which was inventoried. clothing, which consisted of dark pants, a black sweater and a black was also inventoried.police station. ‘They were also aware of prior calls of shots fired in that area earlier that day during their tour on the third watch. After they heard the sergeant’s flash message, there were additional calls from citizens who reported calls to “911” of shots fired and persons with a gun in the area of 53 and King Drive. The messages included descriptions of male blacks wearing dark clothing and hooded sweatshirts. As Leano, Gonzalez, and Hemandez headed southbound on King Drive and approached 53" Street, they heard a flash message from Beat 241R (Hooper and Monte) that they located a vehicle at 53" and King Drive whose windows had been shot out. ‘Moments later, another flash message was broadcast from a responding unit that was pursuing a male black who was running eastbound on 53" toward’ King Drive. Another flash message voiced over that broadcast that the male black was then running, southbound on King Dtive. Leano svt Soom inh a Hernandez arrived at the intersection of 53 and King Drive, they observed as if the officers were trying to grab control of _ while attempting to take Johnson intowas coming to a stop, Leano and Gonzalez both saw Johnson knock Hooper down, break away from the officers, and run in the direction of Officers Leano, Hemandez and Gonzalez. Leano and Gonzalez both saw the gun was still in Johnson’s hand. Johnson ran alongside the passenger side of the squad car toward the rear of their vehicle and then turned northeast toward Washington Park, Gonzalez had no opportunity to un-holster his weapon and feared that Johnson was going to fire shots at him so he ducked for cover. Leano drew his weapon and exited the vehicle. As Leano was exiting the vehicle, he saw a CPD SUV heading northbound in Washington Park from the south toward where Johnson was running and described it as if it was going to block Johnson’s path. Leano began pursuing Johnson. He and other officers yelled, “Stop, police” and “Drop the gun.” Johnson disregarded the officers’ orders and continued running with the gun in his hand. Officer Gonzalez heard officers 4 gunshots and saw Johnson stumble and fall to the ground in the id eoropiaiait ‘down and stillJohnson first ran in the direction of him, Hernandez and Gonzalez after breaking away from Officers Hooper and Monte and then again during the time he pursued Johnson on foot until the gun was removed from Johnson's hand by Hernandez. Leano stated that he did not fire his weapon because he feared it would strike Hernandez or other officers. Officers Phil looy it Monte: Officers Hooper and Monte related that they were partners who monitored Sergeant Bacheleder’s flash message that he heard multiple gunshots being fired. Monte was aware that there had been prior calls of shots fired earlier during his tour of duty in that same area. After the flash message, there were multiple additional citizen calls to “911” of “shots fired” and “persons with a gun” in the area of $3" and King Drive in hich the offenders were deseribed as three male blacks wearing dark clothing and black hooded sweatshirts. A nt black (now known as Individual A) wearing a hooded swe: pomccaled aft ia dccrarceee ean eeceaete Geers tieHooper and Monte each raised their weapons, announced their office, and ordered Johnson to stop, drop the gun, show his hands and get on the ground. Johnson slowed down as if he was going to stop. Hooper recalled that Johnson stated, “Okay, okay, I’m gonna give it up.” Hooper saw Monte standing to his right with his firearm drawn and was covering Hooper so he holstered his firearm to free up his second hand which he then used to try and take Johnson down, Hooper grabbed the back of Johnson’s head and shoulder area with his free hand and tried to take him down to the ground. Johnson initially bent at the waist, but then pulled the firearm inward toward his chest to prevent Hooper from grabbing it and resisted being taken down by Hooper. Johnson used his body to break free of Hooper's grasp and knock Hooper down to the ground. ‘As Johnson fled, Monte and Hooper saw that Johnson was holding a handgun in his right hand which Monte described as a blue-steel semi-automatic pistol. out “gun, gun.” Johnson ran northbound on the sidewalk with the gun inHooper then ran to where Johnson had fallen and learned from Hernandez that Hernandez. had recovered the gun from Johnson. Hooper then used a second set of handcuffs to secure Johnson who was lying face down breathing. Hooper called for an ambulance and remained with Johnson until paramedics arrived, Officers Dennis Liss and Conray Jones: Officers Liss and Jones related that they were in full uniform and riding in a grey unmarked Chevy Tahoe SUV police vehicle. Liss was the driver and Jones was the front passenger. They proceeded to the area of 53" Street and King Drive in response to citizen calls of “shots fired” that were broadcast over the air by the Zone 5 dispatcher. Liss related that this was the second call of shots fired in the same general area. Both officers were monitoring flash messages from other officers who chasing a male black wearing a hooded sweatshirt who first ran eastbound on nearingDrive. Jones related that he heard three or more gunshots and then saw Johnson stumble and fall to the ground. Liss then stopped the vehicle. As Liss exited the squad ear, he un- holstered his firearm and heard other officers yelling, “Get his gun. Secure his gun.” Jones heard officers shouting “Drop the gun” and “Give up the gun.” Neither Liss nor Jones saw who fired the gunshots. Sergeant Michael Costello: Sergeant Costello related that he was responding to a call of “Shots Fired/Person With a Gun” in the area of 53" and King Drive which included a description of a suspect as being a male black wearing dark clothing. Costello related that there were multiple calls of “Shots Fired” in the vicinity of 53" and King Drive during his prior tour of duty the evening before into earlier that morning. Street, he observed a male black (now known as Ronald Johnson) ri <0 ibe! Sher sw Sie ela gal at the mouth of the alley at 53" Street. Johnson ary Segy As Costello neared the northwest comer of 53! and King Drive, he observed Johnson running back northbound after he apparently broke free from unknown officers on the west sidewalk of King Drive and was running toward a female officer standing on the corner. Costello was then able to see Johnson was armed with a blue steel, sennk- automatic handgun in his hand and was being pursued by several offivers, Costello lost his footing and fell down, : Johnson then fled eastbound toward Washington Park, still armed with « handgun, swinging his hands back and forth as he ran, Costello heard officers shouting at Johnson to stop. He then heard gunshots and observed Johnson fall to the ground on the grass on the east parkway of King Drive, Costello transmitted “shots fired by police” on his radio and assisted with crowd control,‘and chased after Johnson who ran past her toward King Drive and then tumed the comer heading southbound. Gilliana broadcast a flash message over the radio that Johnson was running southbound on King Drive. When Gilliana got to the southwest corer of the intersection of 53" and King, Drive, she observed that Johnson had changed course and was running northbound on the west sidewalk of King Drive coming directly at her. During Johnson’s flight, Gilliana saw an object in Johnson’s hand which she believed to be a gun and she heard people shouting “gun.” Gilliana raised and pointed her firearm at Johnson and ordered him to “Stop” and yelled, “Police.” Johnson did not comply. Instead, he shuffled to his right and ran past Gilliana heading eastbound into King Drive toward the park with other officers chasing behind him. ‘Those officers yelled at Johnson to “Stop” and “Drop the gun.” Gilliana continued to chase Johnson and when she ran into King Drive, shecalls of shots fired. When he arrived at that location, he observed a police officer Struggling with a male black, now known as Ronald Johnson, on the south west comer of 53" and King Drive. He observed Johnson break free from the officers with whom he ‘was struggling. Johnson fled on foot in a diagonal pat toward Washington Park. Several officers gave chase and he heard officers shouting, “He has a gun.” He heard gunfire and observed Johnson on the ground with a number of police officers securing him. Thompson inquired as to which officers discharged their firearms and Hemandez confirmed that he was the only officer who discharged his firearm. Thompson asked about the location of Johnson’s firearm and learned from Hernandez that Hernandez recovered the firearm from Johnson and secured it in the small of his back under his duty belt. A crowd began to form, so Thompson escorted Hernandez to Thompson’ parked police car and instructed Hemandez.to place Johnson’s f trunk of the car. Hemandez rendered the firearm safe by placing position and then placed the firearm in the trunk of officers had access to his vehicle and the vehicle mobile crime lab arrived,r 53" Street, they observed Officers Hooper and Monte had a male black individual, now known as Individual A, stopped on the west sidewalk of King Drive. ‘They spoke to Hooper who informed them that Individual A had been shot at and had his car windows shot out. A short time later, they observed a male black individual, now known as Ronald Johnson, running southbound on King Drive on the west sidewalk from 53" Street in the direction of Hooper and Monte. Calvin heard Monte yell “Stop,” “Halt” and other verbal commands, which Johnson refused to follow. They saw that Johnson had his hands near his waist as he approached the officers but they could not see Johnson’s hands clearly. They observed Johnson run into the officers and a scuffle ensued. Based upon Johnson’s movements, they believed that Johnson had a gun. ‘They saw an unmarked CPD car pulled over on the southwest corner of 53" and King Drive. Abraham then observed Johnson run east on 53" toward k so she exits hdeiem-tolaait nic fo ohasslwa Deseret ae observing Johnson run toward the park, Calvin got back into land that is when she heard five to six shots. AfterHernandez. Individual A was interviewed several hours after the shooting and provided a videotaped statement. He was also interviewed by IPRA investigators James Lukas and Lorenzo Davis to whom he provided an audiotaped statement. He provided essentially the same details during the interviews which, in summary, are as follows: Individual A went to the party with his high school friend, Individual B, and two of Individual B’s acquaintances. Individual A identified a photo of Ronald Johnson as ‘one of the males and stated he met Johnson through Individual B and knew him as “Ronnie” or “Running Man.” They left the party because it was boring and entered Individual A’s vehicle in order to leave. Individual A sat in the driver’s seat, Johnson sat in the rear seat behind him, Individual B sat in the rear seat on the passenger side, and Individual C sat in the front passenger seat. As they drove away, Individual A heard ‘gunshots and realized that his rear windshield had been shot out. No one inside th was struck by the gunshots. He then heard Johnson cock a p ;the party. As Individual A was walking to the party, an unmarked police car pulled up and called him over, He stopped and walked back to the police. He had his hands in his front pockets. The officers told him to take his hands out of his pockets so he did. He told the police that his ear window had been shot out. The officers asked him for his ID which he removed from his back pocket and showed them. While Individual A spoke to the officers, Johnson came running around the corner from 53 Street toward him with police officers chasing behind him, The officers told Johnson to stop but he didn’t. Instead, Johnson broke down and ran in the opposite direction. One of the police officers had his weapon drawn, Johnson then ran diagonally across the street. At that time, Individual A’s view was obstructed by the bus shelter. He was able to see a flash of light coming from the middle of the street. He heard two shots and then saw the officers run over to Johnson. Individual A never saw Johnson with a gun in his hand ‘was running with his hands close to his body. He also stated that in his vehicle earlier, he did not actually see the of a pistol” and said the noise was comingy “Ronnie Man”. He stated that he had only met “Ronnie Man” (Johnson) two or three times before that night. Individual A stated that he was wearing a dark hoody and Johnson was wearing a big hoody. Individual A indicated that at the party were members of the Black P Stone Gang and he saw weapons at the party. They left the party, entered his car and immediately shots were fired at his vehicle. After the window was shot out, Johnson said “The motherfuckers hit me. I got hit”. Johnson was not hit but was “skinned” or “grazed”, Then either Johnson or “Slick” instructed him to go back to the party. ‘While in the backseat he heard a click, a metal noise from the backseat, The noise or click was a similar noise to the noise in a movie where you hear a gun or a stapler. Individual A stated that was his belief on how the bullet got in his car. He proceeded to stop”. When Johnson saw it was the police he t x ceed pd be ghdIndividual A acknowledged that he answered IPRA’s questions truthfully and nobody told him what to say. On September 30, 2015, Individual B provided testimony in a sworn deposition in a civil lawsuit. In summary, Individual B related that he grew up with Ronald Johnson, knew him his whole life, and referred to him as “Ronnie Man.” On October 12, 2014, he ‘was with Johnson, Individual A and Individual C. They all wore hoodies. They went to a liquor store and then drove in Individual A’s car to a party at 53" and King Drive. ‘They stayed at the party for approximately 30-40 minutes and then left. ‘They decided to leave the party and went back to Individual A’s car which was parked on S3rd Street near King Drive. When the four of them got in the car and started vidasis Bs to drive away, Individual B turned around and saw some males behind a tree and saw « and broken, Individual B stated that he did not see as ots ee ei iee9y ‘When asked why Individual A went back around to that building, Individual B stated that Individual C told Individual A to pull back there, He further stated that Johnson wanted to go back to where they were shot. Individual B stated that Johnson and Individual C told Individual A to “Pull back up to the building that we just left.” Everyone hopped out of the car. Individual A stayed on King Drive, Individual B was on 53% Street, Individual C went across the street and Individual B did not know where Johnson went. As Individual B was standing on the side of the building on 53% Street, he saw Johnson come out of the alley running toward Individual B and noticed a black Crown Vie detective car coming out of the alley behind Johnson with no lights or sirens activated, When Johnson ran past Individual B, he heard a male voice yelling “He's got a gun.” Individual B was unable to see Johnson’s hands when he ran past him. Johnson ran on King Drive and then tumed right toward 55" Street and was out of Individual B’s He saw Johnson again when Johnson came running. ran back across the street toward Washington Park.officer fired the gunshots. Individual B heard five or six shots fired, Individual B said the officer kept firing until Johnson hit the ground. After Johnson fell to the ground, Individual B saw the officers put handcuffs on Johnson. Individual B stated that only one officer fired gunshots at Johnson and Individual B did not see what that officer did after the shooting. He also did not see which officer put the handcuff’ on Johnson. Individual B also related that Individual C ‘was not aware that Johnson had been shot by the police until Individual B told him. Individual C Individual C, who is a cousin of Ronald Johnson, was interviewed by Cook County State’s Attorneys Investigators on December 1, 2015 and by IPRA investigators on December 2, 2015. He indicated that he has never spoken to any law enforcement ageney regarding what he observed on the night of October 12, 2014. He was aware that since March, IPRA investigators had been attempting to interview him about the | grandmother he shared with Johnson, Despite the n his grandmother, he did not return IPRA’s calls.Individual C indicated he was drinking Patron that evening and Johnson was not drinking. They left the party and got back into the car in the same seats. They drove two blocks on 53 St when somebody started shooting and a couple shots hit the car. They drove around the block and back to 53 and King to go back to the party. No one called the police. Individual A dropped everyone off near the comer of 53 and King and went to park his car. Individuals B, C and Johnson walked up to the building on 53" where the Party was, but a girl closed and locked the gate and refused them entry. Individual C went across the street to the north side of 53" to yell upstairs. He did not see where Ronald Johnson went. He did not see Individual A. Individual B was on the south side of 53". A marked police Tahoe drove past him. After the police drove past he saw someone run eastbound on 53" toward the park. At the time, he did not know that the person running was his cousin, Although he could not tell the race of the person running, he knew it was a male because of the way he ran, He did not see an n of the person running. Individual C heard the police yell “Freeze, sC got Johnson killed and it was all Individual C’s fault. He indicated he does not know why she blames him. Officer George Hernandez provided a version of events which was not Garrity compelled. Hernandez related that he was working Tactical Beat 264B in full CPD uniform with two partners, Officers Robert Gonzalez and Manuel Leano. They were assigned to work a Violence Reduction Enforcement (“VRE”) initiative which he explained consisted of increased visible patrols and other enforcement actiy designated areas where shootings had occurred or were expected to occur. The area of 93" and King Drive was within the designated VRE area where he and his partners were assigned. _Leano was driving the unmarked CPD vehicle, Gonzalez was the front passenger and Hernandez was in the rear seat on the driver’s side. message sent by a Sergeant on Beat 240R (now known as Sgt. Bache we heeSweatshirts and the ealls described hearing 5-10 shots being fired. As Se *S headed southbound on King Drive approaching 53" Steet, he heard Beat 241R (Officer Hooper and Monte) notify the zone that they located a vehicle at $3 and King Drive that sustained bullet damage to its windows. Moments later, he heard another flash message that other officers were chasing a male black wearing a hood who was running eastbound on 53" Street toward’ King Drive. That flash message was interrupted by another flash message that the male black was then running southbound on King Drive. When Hernandez and his partners arrived north of the intersection of 53" and King Drive, he observed a male black individual (now known as Ronald Johnson) struggling with Officers Hooper and Monte on the sidewalk on the west side of King Drive just south of the intersection near the bus shelter. He saw Johnson and Hooper in a “body on body physical struggle” and said it appeared that Hooper was attempting to physically control Johnson’s arms, but Johnson was physically resisting Hooper’s efforts.Hemandez could exit the squad car, Leano stopped abruptly causing Hemandez’s car door to swing closed. Hernandez opened the door again and was exiting the car when he noticed an unmarked CPD SUV to the south heading northbound in Washington Park which was approaching Johnson in an effort to block Johnson’s path of flight. Hernandez chased after Johnson and was only a few feet behind him, making him the closest of all of the officers chasing Johnson. Hernandez yelled for Johnson to “Stop” and “Drop the gun,” and heard other officers yelling the same to Johnson. Johnson did not comply with the officers’ commands and continued to run with the gun still in his hand. Hemandez explained that he feared that Johnson would fire shots either at Hermandez, the other officers chasing him, or the officers in the SUV approaching him. Therefore, Hemandez. discharged his firearm at Johnson but Johnson continued running across King Drive until he stumbled and fell landing face down in the grass of the parkway just east of King Drive. Hemandez, the other officers pursuing Johnson and officers from the SUV, converged on Johnson. He noticed that Johnson was aneplaced the gun in the slide lock position to render it safe and then secured it in the trunk of the sergeant’s vehicle, Gonzalez and Hooper placed handcuffs on Johnson and secured him in custody. Several requests were made for an ambulance. Due to the size of the crowd of citizens which formed at the scene, additional units were brought in to assist with crowd and traffic control, Hemandez was re-interviewed and provided essentially the same information as he had given at the scene. When explaining his concem that Johnson could shoot at the officers chasing him, Hernandez referred to a 2011 Area South Attempted Murder of a Police Officer/Police Shooting incident in which a CPD officer was chasing an armed offender and was shot inthe leg by a fleing offender who fired handgun backward at te ole witot taming is Redo Bly and white mining fora ing motion. (See People v. William Wright (11 CR 18697, HTS41634) Attempted PD OfSee Janes Bana a ae aJohnson, the training ii 8 materials from the Chicago Police Academy provide insight into Officer Hernandez? mental state. At a minimum, if charges were filed, it is expected that the defense would attempt to show that Offi police training that he received, icer Hernandez’ actions comported with the , and that CPD still provides to its officers, For th ese reasons, the Cook County State's Attomey’s Office considered the followi i ie wing excerpts from the Chicago Police Recruit Firearms Training Manual (hereafter CPD Manual). The CPD Manual is used at the Police Academy to train new officers how to use their duty pistol. An officer preparing for duty shall use the Administrative Loading technique to load their pistol to full capacity (commonly referred to as “overloading”). As per CPD General Order 92-3, Add. 2, a duty pistol at full capacity is a fully loaded magazine locked in the pistol and an additional round in the firing chamber. CPD. Manual, Ch. 11, Sec. 4, 54. If a situation calls for the application of deadly force, it must be done without hesitation or innocent lives will be needlessly at risk. CPD Manual, Ch. 17, Myths about Deadly Force, Sec. 2, 81. State law and Department policy governing use of deadly force does not require that the officer let the offender shoot first. CPD Manual, Ch. 17, Myths about Deadly Force, Sec. 2, 80. To immediately incapacitate an armed, violent, possibly drugged, possibly psychotic offender often requires more than one hit to vital areas. Police are not required to fire one shot and wait for the desired result. Police are trained to fire until there is no further threat to themselves or other innocents, CPD Manual, Ch. 17, Myths about Deadly Force, Sec. 5, 81. State law says nothing about where in the body someone may be shot. Shooting someone in the back can be necessary and justified based on the circumstances. A trained officer can fire up to 4 or 5 shots per second. CPD Manual, Ch. 17, Myths about Deadly Force, Sec. 3, 81. 35/hether the i i whether © Suspect poses an immediate threat to the safety of the officers or others, and shethe is acti oe whether he is actively Tesisting arrest or attempting to evade arrest by flight.” Graham, 490 U.S. at 396, In addition to defense of person, because Officer Hernandez was responding to calls of shots fired which could reasonably be deemed the forcible felony of Aggravated Discharge of a Firearm, and because Ronald Johnson was attempting to avoid arrest by Officer Hooper, a determination must also be made as to whether the shooting was Justified under 720 ILCS 5/7-5. That statute provides in pertinent part: “A peace officer, or any person whom he has summoned or directed to assist him, need not retreat or desist from efforts to make a lawful arrest ‘because of resistance or threatened resistance to the arrest. He is justified in the use of any force which he reasonably believes to be necessary to affect the arrest and of any force which he reasonably believes to be necessary to defend himself or another from bodily harm while making the arrest. However, he is justified in using force likely to cause death or great bodily harm only when he reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or such other person, or ‘when he reasonably believes both that: (1) Such force is necessary to prevent the arrest from being defeated by resistance or escape; and (2) The person to be arrested has committed or attempted a forcible felony which involves the infliction or threatened infliction of great bodily harm or is attempting to escape by use of a deadly weapon, or otherwise indicates that he will endanger human life or inflict great bodily harm unless arrested without delay.” 720 ILCS 5/7-5(a).. Both Illinois and Federal Courts have long held thatApp. 34 183, 1 i j 86 (Ist Dist. 1980) (police officer reasonably used deadly force to prevent escape of fleci “sing felony suspect who failed to stop after warning was given); Moore ¥. Chicago Police Bd, 42 Ill. App. 34 343, 348 (Ist Dist. 1976) (police officer acted ‘easonably in using force likely to cause death or great bodily harm against burglary Suspect who resisted arrest); Klein v. Ryan, 847 F.2d 368, 374-75 (7th Cir. 1988) (holding that under section 7-5, “reasonable police officers would have been justified in using deadly force to prevent the escape of a person they reasonably believed to have committed the forcible felony of burglary”). Likewise, the United States Supreme Court has expressly held that “if the suspect threatens the officer with a weapon or there is probable cause to believe that he has committed a crime involving the infliction or threatened infliction of serious physical harm, deadly force may be used if necessary to prevent escape, and if, where feasible, some warning has been given.” Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1, 11, 85 S.Ct. 1694, 1701 (1985). See also Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S. 372, 382 n.9, 127 S.Ct. 1769, 1777 n.9 (2007) (noting that “Garner hypothesized that deadly force may be used if ‘necessary to prevent escape’ when the suspect is known to have ‘committed a crime involving the threatened infliction of serious physical harm,’ so that his mere being | ' inherent danger to society”)circumstances kn¢ lown to Hernandez at the time, including Johnson’s efforts to avoid arest, Hernandez could reasonably believe that Johnson was attempting o avoid arrest because he was responsible for at least some of the shots fired in the area. This is true even though the evidence establishes that Johnson did not fire his weapon. The controlling issue is whether Officer Hemandez’ belief was reasonable. Viewing the ‘combination of these facts under 720 ILCS 5/7-5 and the applicable precedent from the Illinois courts, the Seventh Circuit and the Supreme Court of the United States, Officer ‘Hemandez’ actions were legally justified. Officer Hernandez’ actions are not rendered unjustified by the fact he shot Johnson in the back. This is only one of many factors that must be considered and, given ‘the multiple other factors justifying Hemandez’ actions, is not sufficient to warrant criminal charges. First, even though Johnson was running away from Hernandez and other officers, he was running towards the SUV containing Officers Liss and Jones. - Further, Johnson could easily have tumed around and quickly fired at the officers pursuing him or even fired as he ran. Indeed, Hernandez. specifically referenced another incident in whieh an offender shot a Chicago Police Officer as the offender ran from that officer. In light of the numerous calls of shots fired in the area; the general d