Video of a law enforcement officer’s shooting of a Markham teenager June 9 in Country Club Hills appears to contradict the account given to a federal judge last week in a sworn affidavit from an FBI special agent.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Keri Holleb Hotaling ordered the video’s public release Thursday after its discovery prompted federal prosecutors to drop charges related to an attempted robbery during an undercover operation in the south suburb.
The judge entered her order over objections from federal prosecutors and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, who told her the shooting is being investigated by the Illinois State Police in conjunction with Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke’s office, as well as by Chicago’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability.
The video depicts the shooting of Demond Edwards, 18. An FBI special agent swore in an affidavit last week that, according to the law enforcement officer who shot Edwards, “Edwards struck the law enforcement officer multiple times about his face and body with his fists.”
But no punches appear to be thrown in the video. Rather, the grainy footage recorded from a distance appears to show a man with a gun straddling another person. That person eventually slides away, through the man’s legs, and stands up. The man with the gun turns and points his gun toward the escaping subject, who then collapses to the ground as if he’d been shot.
A COPA statement indicates the officer who opened fire was a Chicago police officer assisting the ATF.
The ATF and federal prosecutors asked Holleb Hotaling not to allow release of the video, arguing it “would jeopardize the independent investigation of the officer-involved shooting.”
Holleb Hotaling ordered its release anyway after it played a central role in federal prosecutors’ decision this week to drop charges related to the attempted robbery of undercover law enforcement officers in Country Club Hills. Holleb Hotaling ordered the charges dismissed without prejudice, meaning new charges could still be filed.
In a statement Thursday night, Boutros’ office called the facts of the case “fluid and developing” and said “multiple investigations are ongoing and more facts will be forthcoming.
“Our decision to dismiss the complaint … should not be read at all as a retreat of this case or the events giving rise to charges.”
An FBI spokesperson said “prosecutors ultimately determine whether to seek criminal charges and juries make the final determination on whether the evidence meets the criminal standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. The FBI will continue our work to protect our communities and disrupt violent crime wherever it may occur.”
An O’Neill Burke spokesperson called her office’s review a “standard step” taken any time a police shooting is investigated by a local or state agency. An Illinois State Police spokesperson said its investigation is ongoing and declined to comment further.
But the video, and events surrounding it, have further strained the trust between Boutros’ office and federal judges in Chicago. Boutros’ leadership team apparently became aware of the video a week ago, but the prosecutor handling the case didn’t see it until Tuesday.
“As soon as I, counsel of record and the prosecuting attorney for this case, viewed that video, I immediately took steps to obtain approval to dismiss the complaint,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Luke Fiedler told the judge during a hearing Thursday.
The prosecutor added that, “as soon as I saw it, it obviously called into question portions of the evidence that was sworn out,” and “one thing is immediately clear, which is that this complaint needs to be dismissed in its entirety.”
Defense attorneys said the video also raised questions about whether individuals charged in the case had been properly identified in other videos. Holleb Hotaling said she was initially confused when she was told the recently surfaced video depicted the shooting of Edwards.
Also charged in the case were Amir Fagan and Chashonn Toney, who had been held in custody. The judge ordered them released after the feds moved to drop the charges. Edwards has been in a hospital.
Holleb Hotaling also wound up questioning the due diligence done by Boutros’ office before filing the charges. She said she had questions for the FBI agent who swore to the facts supporting the charges, and she set a July 2 hearing to consider sanctions against the feds.
“This court is very concerned that I cannot rely on the information that is provided to me either from the U.S. attorney’s office or from agents … when I’m swearing out an affidavit now, right?” Holleb Hotaling said.