A man who stabbed someone and then allegedly stabbed a Chicago police officer in the vest was fatally shot by officers trying to arrest him on the Southwest Side early Saturday, police said.
The identity of the dead man had not been made public yet Saturday afternoon.
Chicago Lawn District officers were called to the 4900 block of South Lavergne Avenue in the Vittum Park neighborhood about 1:40 a.m. for a call of a person stabbed.
The victim, a man, gave police a description of the suspect, and while officers were still speaking to him, a man approached a supervisor and allegedly stabbed the officer in the vest with a knife, according to Chicago police spokesman Sgt. Al Stinites, who spoke to reporters at the scene early Saturday, and Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) spokesman Ephraim Eaddy.
Police spokesman Tom Ahern confirmed that was the same man who stabbed the victim.
During a struggle, the sergeant deployed a Taser, which hit the man, but he removed the prongs and lunged toward the sergeant with a knife. That’s when “additional units” fired shots at the man, who was dead on the scene, Stinitis said.
It was unclear how many shots were fired and how many times the man was struck.
COPA, which is investigating the incident to determine if the use of deadly force is in accordance with the Chicago Police Department’s policy, released a statement that said two officers fired shots that hit the man.
According to COPA, the initial stabbing incident happened at 49th Street and LaCrosse Avenue while the suspect was found nearby at 49th and Lavergne, where he was Tased and then shot after “continuing to attack” officers, all of whom were wearing body cameras, with a knife as they were trying to take him into custody.
COPA will release all body-worn camera and third-party video, 911 calls, report and other material evidence “at the earliest point possible without compromise of the administrative investigation and no later than 60 days from the incident.”
The initial stabbing victim was taken to a hospital, but further information about him was not given.
Police recovered a knife, and three officers who were involved in the shooting, who were taken to a hospital for observation, will be placed on routine administrative duties for 30 days.
