Police Release Body Cam Footage As Violent Protest Break Out In Chicago

FACT: The loss of a human life is a sad thing.

FACT: If you reach for your holstered weapon during a confrontation with police, you WILL be shot.

Violent protests have broken out in the city of Chicago after Harith Augustus was shot and killed by a policeman on Saturday.

The police have released telling body cam footage.

According to Daily Mail:

Saturday’s fatal police involved shooting that sparked violent protests in Chicago was captured on police body camera which shows the man who was killed was armed with a handgun.

Harith Augustus, 37, was identified as the man who was shot by police by the Medical Examiner’s office, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The video, released much earlier than expected by the Chicago Police Department, shows Augustus clearly had a gun holstered, as well as an additional magazine.

In the video, he appears to be reaching for his weapon during the confrontation with the police.

The incident escalated when while being detained, officers questioned Harith about a ‘bulge around his waistband’ they suspected it was a gun.

He then broke free and ran from the officers, which is where this video begins:

BREAKING: Another image from CPD body cam video from Saturday’s deadly shooting. This is of the man who was shot, Harith Augustus https://t.co/V45iuP0Kkl pic.twitter.com/EUJPg4nSxv

— FOX 32 News (@fox32news) July 15, 2018

As significant protests have broken out, the Chicago police expediently released the video.

‘In the interest of transparency & to dispel inaccurate information, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson has ordered the early release of body-worn camera video in yesterday’s officer-Involved shooting,’ Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement to Twitter.

His death set off several hours of unrest in the South Side neighborhood, as angry protesters and police clashed violently.

Tense situation after Chicago Police shoot and kill a man in South Shore. Police say there was a confrontation and he was armed https://t.co/ZqJExF5S9n @dsplacko on the scene pic.twitter.com/LQtMsfdoB7

— FOX 32 News (@fox32news) July 15, 2018

By Saturday evening, tensions escalated between angry residents and baton-wielding officers.

Four protesters were arrested and some police officers suffered minor injuries from thrown rock and bottles, some of which were filled with urine. Two squad cars were also damaged.

Guglielmi said Augustus wasn’t a known gang member and had no recent arrest history.

Police found a handgun and two magazines of bullets at the shooting site and sent them for testing, Guglielmi said.

I honestly don’t think this will change protestors’ minds.