Family of man shot, killed by police in western Chicago suburb sees body cam video
CAROL STREAM, Ill. (CBS) -- After days of outrage, the family of a man shot and killed by police in west suburban Carol Stream have now seen body camera footage from that shooting.
In a statement released by their lawyers, the family of Isaac Goodlow III, 30, said they are devastated by what they saw and heard. The family added that the video was their "worst fears confirmed."
Attorneys for Goodlow's family said he was unarmed when he was shot by two officers in his home early on Saturday, Feb. 3.
Goodlow's family members said they only saw portions of the footage, and said they still don't know the names of the officers involved.
At a news conference Monday evening, Goodlow's family members said the video showed officers going into his bedroom while he was sleeping – before shooting him.
"The video is horrific," said Goodlow's sister, Kyenna McConico. "They lied. What they did was unjustified. They went in there and they shot my brother in his sleep. And we want justice."
McConico claimed officers walked into Goodlow's home unannounced – without his knowledge that anyone was in the house.
Carol Stream police have said officers responded to a reported domestic violence incident at the Villagebrook Apartments at 260 E. St. Charles Road around 4:15 a.m. that day, when two officers shot Goodlow.
"Officers encountered a tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving situation, which resulted in officers discharging their weapons at the alleged domestic violence suspect," Carol Stream Police Chief Brian Cluever said at a news conference afterward.
Goodlow was shot multiple times, and was taken to Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, where he was pronounced dead.
It still was not clear why anyone started firing. CBS 2 was told a female friend of Goodlow's placed the call to police – though his family said the body camera video shows Goodlow's constitutional rights were violated.
"It was abundantly clear that the Carol Stream Police officers, whose faces and identities were withheld, acted with depraved hearts, recklessly, and in violation of Isaac's constitutional rights when they shot and murdered an unarmed Black man while he was quietly in the bedroom of his own apartment," Goodlow's attorneys said in a statement.
The family said police told them Goodlow threw something at officers.
"They shot my son down like a dog. They shot him down like a dog; like he wasn't even a human being. Isaac was a good man. We was real close. We was real close. He wouldn't harm a fly. He wouldn't harm nobody," Goodlow's mother, Bonnie Pigram, said last week.
The family admitted they only saw a redacted, partial version of the body cam video – which the Village of Carol Stream said was provided to the family, proving their department's desire to proceed in a "transparent and informative manner."
Still, police have not responded to CBS 2's request for a comment or update on Monday.
Goodlow's family's attorney said Goodlow had overcome significant health challenges in his life, including meningitis and bipolar disorder, and his family believes he was suffering a mental health crisis on the day of the incident.
"He stayed to himself. He stayed in his home where he felt he was safe at, or he felt he was supposed to be comfortable," said Goodlow's brother, Michael Pigram. "My brother did not think he was going to lose his life inside his own home."
The two officers who shot Goodlow have been placed on paid leave while the shooting is under investigation.
They family is demanding the full version be released not just to them, but to the public. They also want charges against the officers involved.
"We expect all officers involved, and all other parties involved, to be prosecuted to the highest extent of the law," said Goodlow's cousin, Gania Reynolds.
Carol Stream police said they are committed to releasing the most relevant footage as soon as possible.
