CHICAGO — When the lives of police officers are threatened, they are allowed to use deadly force during the situation. But in the case of the shooting involving Dexter Reed and the Chicago Police Department, the fact CPD officers fired nearly 100 shots creates questions about both policy and public perception.
Reed was involved in what one witness described as a "shoot-out" on March 21 that started as a traffic stop by plain-clothed officers for a seat-belt violation in the 3800 block of West Ferdinand Street in Humboldt Park.
By incident's end, Both Reed and a Chicago police officer were shot — Reed multiple times and the officer in the forearm — With Reed later dying at a nearby hospital.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) released police body camera footage of the shooting Tuesday that revealed police fired 96 shots during the exchange. Afterward, COPA said all signs point toward Reed being the first person to open fire.
WGN Investigates later learned roughly ten shell casings were found inside of Reed's car — A sign he may have continued firing. His gun, a source said, was found emptied of ammunition.
"[Officers] don't have to wait to get shot," said former CPD Superintendent Garry McCarthy.
McCarthy said the second Reed pulled a gun, let alone fired, officers had the right to defend themselves.
“When an individual – factual or perception – has a gun and is shooting at you, you’re going to keep going until the threat is mitigated," McCarthy said. "That’s what the training says.”
While some question the fact officers fired 96 shots, CPD's use of force policy does not specify numbers, saying officers, "may only use force that is objectively reasonable, necessary, and proportional in order to ensure the safety of a member or third person, stop an attack, make an arrest, control a subject, or prevent escape.”
“It’s easy to say what you think should happen; but if you’ve never been in that situation – and I have – it’s difficult," said Eddie Johnson, another former CPD superintendent. "It’s a very difficult situation to be in.”
Police data showed that while the number of police officers shot or shot at rose last year, the number of people shot by police in Chicago declined. From 2022 to 2023, the number of people shot by Chicago police dropped from 18 to 11, while shootings where CPD officers were shot or shot at rose from 55 to 68 over the same timeframe.
And while the plain-clothed tactical team involved both Black and white officers, police leaders also know that mistrust of the police often falls along racial lines.
“Unfortunately, people jump to the race card all the time not thinking about the fact these are all human beings," Johnson said. "And we’d love to see everyone go home regardless of what their race is; but in Chicago racism is alive and well and people jump to that all the time."
Later in the bodycam footage released by COPA, officers can be seen performing CPR on Reed without success, and the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office has not said how many of the 96 shots fired actually hit him.
Another question that remains is why would a plain-clothed tactical team bother stopping someone for something as minor as a seatbelt violation?
According to sources, it's often a tactic used to stop vehicles in high crime neighborhoods looking for other criminal conduct.
It is a tactic that has angered many, who say African Americans are disproportionately targeted in traffic stops, but earlier this week, current CPD superintendent Larry Snelling told the Chicago community traffic stops have significantly decreased so far this year.