The family of a man gunned down by a Chicago police officer last year wants criminal charges filed in the case.
They made that demand at a news conference Friday at Daley Plaza, joined by their attorney.
Reginald Clay Jr., 24, was fatally shot by Officer Fernando Ruiz on April 15, 2023 after a brief foot chase in the 3800 block of West Flournoy Street. Clay fled officers who approached him and a group of people about 10 a.m. that day, according to statements released by the police department and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.
Body-camera footage released by COPA showed Clay walking away as two officers pulled up. Clay fled through a gangway into a backyard and then into another gangway that was blocked off. Clay is seen turning toward the officers with a gun in his right hand before he shifts the weapon to his left hand and apparently tries to put it down on a back porch. An officer opens fire as Clay appears to scream and grab for his chest.
After an investigation, COPA, the city’s police oversight agency, recommended Ruiz be dismissed from the department . The agency alleged Ruiz violated the department’s foot pursuit policy, failed to notify the Office of Emergency Management and Communications of the pursuit as required by that policy, failed to activate his body camera in a timely manner, and failed to use de-escalation techniques before using force.
However, CPD Supt. Larry Snelling disagreed with COPA’s recommendation and instead proposed a two-day suspension.
Chicago Police Board President Kyle Cooper sided with COPA at a hearing last week. Ruiz’s fate now will be decided after either a hearing before the full Police Board or, if the officer chooses, public or private arbitration.
Clay’s family attended last week’s hearing and blasted Snelling for giving them “false hope” during their meetings with him.
Kevin O’Connor, the family’s attorney, said relatives hope the police board will side with COPA and Cooper and relieve Ruiz of his police powers.
“I would hope that if they recommend the firing, that the state’s attorney’s office will take a look at this,” said O’Connor Friday. “If an independent police board determines that an officer violated a person’s civil rights then they should be looked into for criminal charges.”
The state’s attorney’s office said Friday the case was “under review” by prosecutors in the Law Enforcement Accountability Division, who review investigations of all on-duty officer-involved shootings to determine if criminal charges are appropriate.
“I just need justice for my son,” said Clay’s father, Reginald Clay Sr. “The job’s not over, even if the police board makes their decision, we still have a long way to go.”
O’Connor filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city on behalf of Clay’s family.
“We are moving forward with discovery to find out all the evidence that led up to this,” O’Connor said.
“They had no justification. They had no reason to be chasing him and they violated all of their own policies and procedures on foot chases when they chased him,” he added. “A policy that’s not enforced is useless.”
Ruiz remains on active duty in the gangs investigation unity, a police spokesperson said.