Bodycam video shows cop getting shot by man suspected of having just seriously wounded Little Village guard at Home DepotSam Kellyon April 23, 2021 at 11:41 pm

Screenshot of body camera footage released April 23, 2021, of a fatal police shooting in Little Village.
Screenshot of body camera footage released April 23, 2021, of a fatal police shooting in Little Village. | Civilian Office of Police Accountability

The officer chased the suspect into an alley and said, “What’s up, man?” A single gunshot can be heard as the officer starts to turn and duck into a gangway.

Police bodycam video released Friday shows an officer getting shot in the shoulder after confronting a man suspected of having just seriously wounded a security guard at a Little Village Home Depot last month.

Minutes later, another officer is seen lying in wait in a backyard as gunfire is heard. Climbing on top of a folding chair, the officer reaches over a white fence and shoots the suspect.

The suspect later died. The cop was released from the hospital later that night, but the guard, in his 50s, suffered a serious wound to the head. The officer was the fourth Chicago cop to be shot in two weeks.

The videos were released by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which reviews all police shootings. They capture the frantic moments after the suspect, 18-year-old Travon Chadwell, was confronted by a guard at a Home Depot store in the 2400 block of West 46th Street around 4 p.m. on March 25.

Warning: Graphic video

The guard had seen Chadwell allegedly shoplifting and started struggling with him and was shot, according to police.

One of the videos shows two officers arriving in their squad car near the store as police searched for Chadwell. “He’s running, he’s running, go get him,” one officer says.

One of them chases the suspect into an alley. As the officer turns the corner of a garage, he sees the suspect standing in the middle of the alley.

“What’s up, man?” the officer says.

In seconds, a single gunshot is heard as the officer starts to turn and duck back into the gangway. He falls to the ground and shouts, “I’m shot, I’m shot, I’m shot.”

Surveillance video from a nearby garage appears to show the suspect turn around and raise his gun toward the officer as the officer runs back toward the gangway.

His partner tells the officer to grab his gun and point it at the entrance to the alley as he drags the officer away.

More police cars pour into the scene and the suspect is cornered in the backyard of a home on 46th Street, between Western Avenue and Rockwell Street.

“Put the f- – -ing gun down, my man, it’s not f- – -ing worth it,” one officer yells as shots can be heard.

Video from a neighboring apartment shows a bystander stuck in the backyard, his hands raised while the standoff plays out. Officers eventually signal the man to run behind them into the alley while the suspect hides behind two SUVs, holding his gun.

Meanwhile, an officer is seen creeping into the backyard of a neighboring home, waiting, then setting up a folding chair near the fence. Three shots are heard, and the officer steps onto the chair and appears to fire three shots of his own.

“I got him, I got him!” he shouts.

Other officers surround the home and rush into the backyard, where the suspect is lying in a pool of blood, groaning. The officers immediately put Chadwell in handcuffs, then flip him onto his back to tend to his wounds.

An ambulance arrives at the scene about 5:15 p.m., 10 minutes after Chadwell was shot. The bodycam footage ends.

The standoff lasted about six minutes between the time Chadwell shot the officer and when he was shot by police. A police spokesperson could not give an update on the officer’s condition or if he has returned to duty.

COPA provided seven tactical response reports produced by the officers at the scene of the fatal shootout. The agency has not yet finished its investigation.

Though none of the footage shows Chadwell shooting the Home Depot security guard, COPA released an audio recording of the 9-1-1 calls to police.

“Someone got shot at the Home Depot at 47th and Western,” one caller says, distraught. “It was security, I heard the gunshot and saw a guy running.”

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