Newly released videos appear to show a Chicago police officer firing his weapon at a man who had fired at the cop during a foot pursuit last month in the Old Town neighborhood, and then not administering aid to the man.
Antonio Calmese Jr., 20, was shot about 5:05 a.m. Oct. 2 in the 400 block of West Blackhawk Street, according to Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. His death was ruled a homicide resulting from multiple gunshot wounds.
Officers patrolling the area were flagged down by a person who said someone had pointed a gun at them, police said.
Videos released Tuesday by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability show Calmese walking the streets with a gun. They also show the officer, Jarron Jefferson, chasing Calmese through an alley and directing him several times to “drop it,” then saying, “You’ll get shot over that gun.”
About a minute later, the officer deployed his Taser twice, but Calmese continued to walk away.
Then, before turning a corner into another alley, Calmese fired what appeared to be one shot in the direction of the officer.
Jefferson ran to the corner and fired what appeared to be seven rounds toward Calmese, then another four shots. He took cover behind the corner of a building and then fired another seven rounds at Calmese, who did not appear to fire back and dropped to the ground.
Jefferson, 34, did not render aid to Calmese. Other responding officers did not appear to immediately administer aid, though a police report of the incident indicated officers and fire officials rendered aid.
Videos show another officer patting Calmese down about five minutes after the shooting. Fire officials arrived to render aid about eight minutes after the shooting.
A handgun and shell casings that didn’t match the officer’s weapon were recovered near Calmese, police said.
Calmese was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, fire officials said.
Jefferson, who wasn’t shot, was treated for injuries at the same hospital, fire officials said.
The chase lasted about 10 minutes, with Jefferson following Calmese around an apartment building, hopping fences and ultimately losing sight of him in a parking lot. He found Calmese when another officer arrived, at which time Jefferson said, “Get that motherf—–.”
Jefferson got in the other officer’s squad car, and the two drove for about a minute until they located Calmese again. Jefferson got out of the car for another foot pursuit moments before the exchange of gunfire.
COPA continues to investigate the shooting. It will release a summary report after it is concluded.
