Chicago Residents Protest, Confront Police Hours After Fatal Shooting

After a police officer fatally shot a man in Chicago’s South Side on Saturday night, local residents gathered to protest and confront officers for hours, according to the New York Times.

CNN reports that at least four people were arrested.

Chicago’s Police Chief of Patrol Fred Waller said police began following a man in the South Shore neighborhood on Saturday "who they thought might be armed.” “When they approached him, he tried to push their hands away,” Waller told reporters. “He started flailing and swinging away, trying to make an escape. And as he made an escape, he reached for the gun.”

At one point during the incident, an officer shot the unidentified man, who was later taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead. Waller told reporters police recovered a unfired semiautomatic weapon from the man. Some tweets have identified the man as a local barber, but that has yet to be confirmed. 

After the shooting, residents began approaching the officers and disputing the police department’s version of the incident. This is the latest event to expose the mistrust between police and local residents in black communities in Chicago. National protests against police brutality and Black Lives Matter turned its attention toward the city in 2015 after graphic footage of a police officer shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was released.

Protestors shouted, "Who do you protect? Who do you serve?" at law enforcement on Saturday night. Many outlets noted the speed at which the protests broke out.

As the Times points out, a reporter from the Chicago Sun-Times tweeted about officers using batons on the crowd before making several arrests. The reporter was also slammed to the ground by police. It’s unclear what those arrested have been charged with. By 10:30 p.m., the crowd was cleared.

The officer involved in the shooting will be placed on administrative duties for 30 days.