Family Of Maurice Granton Jr. Sues City Over Fatal Police Shooting
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The family of 24-year-old Maurice Granton Jr. is suing the Chicago Police Department for wrongful death, after an officer shot and killed Granton in the Bronzeville neighborhood last month.
Police have said Granton pulled out a gun during a foot chase near 47th and Prairie on June 6, and was shot during an "armed encounter."
Granton's family has said he was unarmed, and was shot in the back.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability released body camera video of the shooting last week. The officer's body camera that captured the incident wasn't recording audio when he shot Granton, but the sound of gunfire can be heard on another officer's body camera. A gunshot can be heard before there's a pause continued by several more shots.
The video shows Granton trying to climb a fence as he runs away from police. He later falls to the ground after getting shot.
Police said an earlier video released to the public shows Granton armed with a gun before the chase. The department also tweeted a picture of a gun officers recovered at the scene.
However, Granton's father said police have it all wrong.
"Nowhere on the videos do you see my son armed, and nowhere on the videos do you see a confrontation. My son was running away. Whatever my son was doing was, he's not a person who would have an armed confrontation with the police. This was not justified use of force," Maurice Granton Sr. said.
The family's attorney, Antonio Romanucci, said Granton Jr.'s hands were on a fence when he was shot, proving he wasn't holding a gun.
"Maurice did not have a weapon in his hands when he was shot," Romanucci said.
The body cam footage captures police referencing a gun, Martinez reports.
"Get the weapon! Get the weapon! Get the gun! Get the gun!" an officer shouts.
COPA has not yet ruled on whether the shooting was justified.