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Chicago police release bodycam footage of 37 yr old Harith Augustus being fatally shot

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posted on Jul, 16 2018 @ 11:30 AM
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Chicago police release bodycam footage of Harith Augustus



Chicago police release body camera footage of fatal officer-involved shooting that prompted protests
www.chicagotribune.com...


Chicago police on Sunday released a snippet of video of a fatal police shooting less than a day after it sparked violent clashes between officers and protesters on the South Side.

The footage, taken from an officer’s body-worn camera, appears to show Harith Augustus, 37, a barber, break away from officers and move his hand toward his waistband. He was shot dead in the street by police.

The video, however, runs less than a minute and does not include sound, so it is unclear what exchanges occurred between Augustus and officers in the seconds before the shooting.

“In this particular instance after seeing what transpired last night, I have an obligation to this city, to the community and to these police officers to make sure this city is safe and calm...And last night after what I saw on video, you know, bottles being thrown, urine being thrown at the police officers, we can’t have another night like that.”

The office ruled the shooting a homicide — not an indication of wrongdoing by police.

“If we expect neighborhoods to partner with the police, then the police have to do our part to be transparent without adversely affecting the integrity of the investigation,” Johnson said.

“To the family of Mr. Augustus, I offer you my sincerest condolences for your loss, especially as a parent, as a father,” he told reporters. “To the officers involved, I know this is hard on you all, and you have my word that we’ll ensure as a department that you all get the necessary support and mentoring you need through this difficult situation.”


So I thought this would be important to bring up because gun violence vs police brutality has always been the theme in Chicago and when protests and civil rights become the target for situations like these obviously outrage will occur and people will want to know the truth.

That said, at first the victim appears to act like a normal person would who doesn't want to be touched in any way. You can clearly see him feeling his waist before he breaks from the officers which then after his shirt is lifted you can somewhat see something on his right hip that would look like a gun.



After resisting to cooperate with the police, he runs away, not sure if he is shot whilst his back is facing the cops, but as he turns around it looks like he is reaching for something on his right hip. At that point you know it is game over for this guy.



Could the officers have used a taser or tackled him before it reached this point? What caused the man to run away from the law? Why were the officers after him in the first place?

After seeing this and listening to the comments by the police chief I would assume the officers did whatever it took to keep themselves and innocent bystanders safe. Unfortunately it resulted in taking a man's life to do this.

What are your thoughts? Was this a criminal act by the police officers?
edit on 16-7-2018 by Skywatcher2011 because: added pictures

edit on 16-7-2018 by Skywatcher2011 because: (no reason given)



posted on Jul, 16 2018 @ 11:54 AM
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He got exactly what he deserved. Act like a thug and get treated like a thug. Good on the police officers for keeping everyone else in the area safe.



posted on Jul, 16 2018 @ 12:01 PM
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a reply to: Skywatcher2011

Zero sympathy for this clown. Ive surely seen some questionable body cam footage, but this looks exactly like he's reaching for a gun.



posted on Jul, 16 2018 @ 12:45 PM
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a reply to: Skywatcher2011

Sure looked like he was going for a gun. I'm not a big fan of cops but pull a gun on a cop well honestly you're probably gonna get shot. I dunno looks like he wouldn't have been if he had't tried to run and pull out a gun on the cops. I don't know much about the situation or what was going on but the guy could have definitely avoided that outcome.
edit on 16/7/2018 by dug88 because: (no reason given)



posted on Jul, 16 2018 @ 01:26 PM
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edit on 16-7-2018 by SlapMonkey because: double post



posted on Jul, 16 2018 @ 01:27 PM
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a reply to: Skywatcher2011

He exhibited body language as if he had a concealed weapon on him (yes, for you non-police or non-conceled carry folks, that's an easily recognizable thing).

He resisted police officers trying to stop him.

He had a pistol and an extra magazine in holsters on his hip.

He spun away from officers and obviously was reaching for, if not already had his hand on, his weapon.

He was shot by police because of these choices, it would seem.

Now, knowing by talking to people who actually live in Chicago how difficult it is to get a concealed-carry permit, I would presume that he did not have a permit for the weapon, but that is a pertinent point of evidence that was not discussed in the story. It seems, though, that he was carrying the concealed weapon illegally:

[Police Superintendent Eddie T.] Johnson offered few details during the news conference, citing an ongoing investigation by Chicago’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability, but did say that Augustus did not appear to have a state-issued concealed firearm license.

WaPo

In my opinion, that is going to be what matters the most. I'm uncertain about the specifics of Illinois law, but here in KY, we MUST show our CCDW permit on any officer who asks to see it. That doesn't mean that they can search my person for a weapon, but I must stop and engage with the officer and provide the permit/license.

If I choose not to engage and comply with their requests, they can most likely attempt to detain and search me, as at that point they may have probable cause.



posted on Jul, 16 2018 @ 01:32 PM
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a reply to: SlapMonkey

Hi my good man, you know we come from different ends of the spectrum on LEOs allowance to end life, I have had a mini rant in the other thread on this topic, and the point I made was did the LEO know 100% it was illegal, because that to me should not have words such as "presumed" and "did not appear to have" before the fatal shots was fired, arrest the perp and put him behind bars but death from LEOs is not something I ever understand, unless live fire from the perp towards public or LEO.



posted on Jul, 16 2018 @ 01:33 PM
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a reply to: Skywatcher2011

Live by the sword die by the sword



posted on Jul, 16 2018 @ 01:34 PM
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a reply to: SlapMonkey

Pretty much what I saw on the footage as well.

Death by cop.

Which is a shame, but he chose it...




posted on Jul, 16 2018 @ 01:39 PM
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originally posted by: UpIsNowDown
a reply to: SlapMonkey

Hi my good man, you know we come from different ends of the spectrum on LEOs allowance to end life, I have had a mini rant in the other thread on this topic, and the point I made was did the LEO know 100% it was illegal, because that to me should not have words such as "presumed" and "did not appear to have" before the fatal shots was fired, arrest the perp and put him behind bars but death from LEOs is not something I ever understand, unless live fire from the perp towards public or LEO.



Problem is you can't tell 100% in 1 second.

All you can go by is the actions of the person prior to drawing yourself... which in this case were all wrong.

Also, he could have had a CCDW. Doesn't mean that having one will save you if you attempt to draw on an officer.

Ex military here and not a LEO, but I'm never going to put myself in a position where I am RETURNING fire if I can help it.



posted on Jul, 16 2018 @ 01:41 PM
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a reply to: UpIsNowDown

Well, there is NEVER a need to be on the receiving end of a deadly assault prior to using deadly force--plenty of case law confirms that.

The same standard is applied to LEOs, even if they SHOULD be much better trained than the average citizen in when it is appropriate to use deadly force.

In this particular incident, though, it was appropriate. Regardless as to the attempted detention and search of Mr. Augustus, the facts are that he was armed and acting in a dangerous manner, and once he was away from the hands of the officers, he was reaching for his weapon in plain view for everyone to see. It was not until then that an officer fired at him.

You don't have to like it, but it wasn't illegal judging by Mr. Augustus' own actions. Now, if they had shot him, say, when his lifted shirt showed a weapon without him reaching for it, that would be a completely different story.

Worth reminding you about is that he chose his own demise--all he had to do was tell them that he had a weapon on him and let them remove it while they talked to him. Instead, he fought to get away from police who seemed to be trying to detain/arrest him, so saying 'just arrest him and take him to jail' isn't as easy as you make it seem.


edit on 16-7-2018 by SlapMonkey because: (no reason given)



posted on Jul, 16 2018 @ 01:57 PM
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he got killed fair and square.
these protesters don't even know what tf they're protesting.

p. o. s like the idiot that got killed is what is taking away credibility when the police actually preemptively shoot, or there was no real threat.

.... meanwhile 4 people just got murdered between when this happened and today... no protests though
edit on 16-7-2018 by odzeandennz because: (no reason given)



posted on Jul, 16 2018 @ 01:59 PM
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a reply to: SlapMonkey

I never assume it is easy, an LEO or police officer in UK (to which I have family who have served and currently serving), if my words were flippant and lacking in substance that is the fault of my education not my love and respect for people who protect others on a daily basis.

I can understand where you say he made his own choice but I disagree slightly, his choice was to be a criminal (I dont respect his choice myself), criminals should be punished befitting the crime, being shot at first makes it hard for me to justify, as we then move into hypothetical, what if he did this, what if he did that

I never want to be judged on what if he did this next attitude, judge me on what actions I have done nothing more

Maybe in this case he has a rap sheet as long and disgusting as a seriuos criminal, we cant let emotion decide the severity of his punishment.

I would not want that for you or I, therefore in a civilised society I have to offer the same (thru gritted teeth) to the criminals of this world, 12 men and women and one judge



posted on Jul, 16 2018 @ 02:19 PM
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originally posted by: UpIsNowDown
a reply to: SlapMonkey

I can understand where you say he made his own choice but I disagree slightly, his choice was to be a criminal (I dont respect his choice myself), criminals should be punished befitting the crime, being shot at first makes it hard for me to justify, as we then move into hypothetical, what if he did this, what if he did that

I think that the problem lies in that you act like this interaction on the street is similar to a courtroom--it's not. And as I mentioned, once someone decides to draw or even just attempt to draw a pistol on you, civilian or officer, you have a right to defend yourself, with deadly force, against what a reasonable person would believe to be an imminent deadly threat.

As I noted, it's not like the officers fired without Augustus reaching for his weapon--they tried to detain him. Augustus' choices after that point are what got him shot.


I never want to be judged on what if he did this next attitude, judge me on what actions I have done nothing more

I will let you in on a secret--if you reach for your weapon during a confrontation with police, you will be judged on your action and will probably receive the same fate.

You have the free will to decide NOT to draw on the officer(s).


Maybe in this case he has a rap sheet as long and disgusting as a seriuos criminal, we cant let emotion decide the severity of his punishment.

From what I've read, he doesn't have a record at all--a few arrests from long ago that were dismissed by judges.


I would not want that for you or I, therefore in a civilised society I have to offer the same (thru gritted teeth) to the criminals of this world, 12 men and women and one judge

I don't ever what someone to die at the hands of police nor do I ever want police put in the position to take someone's life. But that's not reality--it happens on a daily basis, unfortunately, and the vast majority of officer-involved-shootings are as justified as this one appears to be.

I do, however, want to wait for the audio to be released before I completely embrace the conclusion that this was justified, but I can't imagine much changing my mind at this point. I've been wrong before, though.



posted on Jul, 16 2018 @ 02:48 PM
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a reply to: Skywatcher2011

If someone is not guilty of anything, there's no reason for anyone to refuse answering questions, resist a body search, or run from the police. This guy was guilty of all three. Unfortunately, he himself put himself in a situation where he lost his life.

I agree, no sympathy here. The video clearly shows the man was armed. Protesters are not doing themselves a favor if they protest police shootings that clearly shows to be justified by the police. All it does is muddy the water and gives less attention on incidents of real police abuse. They need to thoroughly investigate the facts before picking their fights. Eyewitnesses can be tainted based upon their hate for police.

Joey Jackson a black attorney said it correctly... He told his two young sons, "if you ever get stopped by the police to fully cooperate." They can always defend their rights in a court of law instead of risking losing their life by being confrontational or fleeing the police.



posted on Jul, 16 2018 @ 02:53 PM
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THe video clearly shows that the man was wearing a pistol on his hip in plain sight.

As such, how can it be "concealed"?



posted on Jul, 16 2018 @ 03:31 PM
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originally posted by: Gryphon66
THe video clearly shows that the man was wearing a pistol on his hip in plain sight.

As such, how can it be "concealed"?

Because it was concealed at the beginning of the video that I watched, his shirt was covering it.



posted on Jul, 16 2018 @ 03:32 PM
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a reply to: Skywatcher2011

What are my thoughts on this? Do I think the Cops acted criminally?

My take on this is that while there may be some justification for the shooting after the encounter went south, I doubt that, but its possible, the cops may not have acted criminally, but they behaved unbelievably stupidly in having ever engaged this guy in the first place! What did he do wrong? If I remember correcty, a Cop came out of a store and observed this victim, a Barber, hand someone a cigarette at which point she confronts the guy and says its illegal to sell individual cigarettes.

Really? This cops got nothing better than do than worry about individual sales of cigs?

That 's just utterly ridiculous and it wreaks of intentional harassment of someone, for whatever reason. And yea, probably because he's black! And that aggravates me to no end for the plain and simple reason that I've been harassed and intimidated by TSA simply because I'm an older white guy and they're all POC and see their positions as an opportunity to pay it back the bad treatment they've gotten from white cops!



posted on Jul, 16 2018 @ 03:41 PM
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The video is the video....I'd like to hear the sound.

What was said leading up to it and did they shoot with his back turned?

I am far from a cop hater just to make it clear.



posted on Jul, 16 2018 @ 03:54 PM
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Looks very much justifiable to my eyes that’s definently a gun in holster along with extra mags in a holster. Even if he was legally carrying his actions left no choice for the officers.




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