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HUMBOLDT PARK — The city’s police watchdog released video Tuesday morning that shows police fatally shooting Dexter Reed during a traffic stop in March.
Police shot and killed Dexter Reed, 26, on March 21 after a traffic stop in the 3800 block of West Ferdinand Street. On Tuesday, officials said the deadly encounter began because police stopped Reed for not wearing a seatbelt.
Reed shot at officers first, hitting one in his forearm — then four officers shot about 96 times in 41 seconds, according the Civilian Office of Police Accountability. Officers are seen firing at Reed as he laid on the ground.
The watchdog did not say how many shots Reed allegedly fired before officers fired back.
The watchdog has recommended four officers be relieved of police powers while the investigation is ongoing.
Reed’s family plans to host a news conference to talk about the video Tuesday afternoon.
WARNING: EXTREMELY GRAPHIC VIDEO:
The shooting happened 6:02 p.m. March 21 in the 3800 block of West Ferdinand Street after police pulled over Reed’s car for a traffic stop, police said.
Videos of the shooting show officers pulling over Reed. Several get out of a car and order Reed to open his doors, roll down his windows and get out of the car. At least two officers take out guns and point them at Reed while giving him orders.
Reed rolls down the driver’s side window before rolling it partially back up.
“Open the door now! Open the door now!” an officer orders Reed while the officers back away, their guns pointed at Reed.
A neighbor’s surveillance footage of the incident shows an officer walk up to the passenger side of the SUV and stand there for several moments before shots are heard and the officer turns back and runs away, taking cover. Smoke can be seen around the car, which moves forward. That officer later radioed in that he’d been shot, and his wound can be seen in several videos.
Numerous shots are then heard as officers fire and run around the car.
WARNING: EXTREMELY GRAPHIC VIDEO:
Reed drives the car forward several times, hitting another car. He gets out of the driver’s side of the car and goes to the back; he is shot and falls to the ground. Officers continue to shoot at him as he lies on the ground. They stop and Reed lies, unmoving and bleeding. Officers point their guns at him and order him not to move as he lies still. One officer says Reed is still breathing as officers look for a gun.
Officers put Reed’s hands behind his back and handcuff him. Blood is seen around him on the street. The officers later turn Reed over and perform chest compressions on him.
Meanwhile, other officers apply a tourniquet to the left arm of the wounded officer while he’s on the ground and check him for other wounds.
Reed was shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at a local hospital, agency officials said. The officer who was shot in his forearm was brought to an area hospital in good condition. A gun was found in Reed’s front passenger seat, according to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.
WARNING: EXTREMELY GRAPHIC VIDEO:
Reed’s family pushed for release of video of the shooting, saying it was going to cast doubt on authorities’ narrative.
The family also sent a letter to Mayor Brandon Johnson and police Supt. Larry Snelling asking for help in releasing videos and any other evidence to help understand what happened.
Johnson on Tuesday pledged transparency and accountability from his administration as the investigation into the shooting takes place. Joined at a press conference by COPA Administrator Andrea Kersten and Kim Foxx, Cook Count state’s attorney, he urged the city to remain peaceful and “not lead our city down a path of division, but instead towards healing and transformation.”
Shooting a police officer “can never be condoned” Johnson said. But he said officers must also be held to the “highest of standards as agents of the law.”
Johnson said he visited the wounded officer in the hospital and spoke with Reed’s family. A former public school teacher, the mayor said the wounded officer and Reed, who are both Black, could have been students of his.
“I know this footage is extremely painful and traumatic for many of our city’s residents,” he said. “As mayor, raising a family, including two Black boys on the West Side of Chicago, I am personally devastated to see yet another Black man lose his life during an interaction with police.”
Andrew Stroth and attorney Steven A. Hart, representing Reed’s family, sent a letter to city officials demanding the release of the involved officers’ names and the preservation of evidence in the fatal shooting.
Reed’s family want him remembered as a “brave, outspoken, sweet and genuine young man,” said Reed’s older sister, Porscha Banks.
Reed was known to his family and friends as a gifted young man who was a standout athlete. He had aspirations to start his own clothing company and be a sports broadcaster, Banks said.
Reed, of Garfield Park, loved to play basketball and played at Westinghouse College Prep High School, leading the team to a regional championship in 2016, his family said.
“Dexter was one of the kids you don’t just coach, you actually really love him because he was an incredible hard worker,” Bill Curry, who coached Reed on the Westinghouse basketball team 2013-2017, told the Sun-Times last month.
After high school, Reed played basketball at Morton College and studied broadcasting, Banks said.
“He was a very sophisticated, smart, ambitious guy who liked to play basketball, go to the gym, keep up with his health and spend time with his family,” Banks said. “He loved being around happy people.”
At the time of his death, Reed was not working but was gearing up to launch his clothing brand, Fanner, Banks said. Last year, he dropped his first items from the clothing line, offering fitted T-shirts and hooded jackets.
On the day Reed died, Banks saw him at his niece’s school and talked to him on the phone three minutes before the shooting, she said.
His last words to her were, “‘Take Mom to the gym.’ … He wanted me to get Mom out of the house,” she said.
Banks did not know where Reed was going that day, saying he liked to drive around for fun.
Banks started a GoFundMe to raise money for Reed’s funeral expenses and to pay for a lawyer to help the family get justice, she said.
Reed was arrested twice last year, public records show: In April 2023, he was charged with retail theft, which was dropped, according to the Sun-Times. And in mid-July, he was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon without a concealed carry card or Firearm Owner’s ID when officers said they found him with a loaded gun at the Windy City Smokeout, according to the Sun-Times. He was facing several gun-related charges that were pending when he was killed.
A recently released analysis from advocacy groups Impact for Equity and Free2Move Coalition found about 22 percent of all traffic stops made last year were concentrated on the West Side in the Ogden (10th) and Harrison (11th) police districts — where Reed was pulled over and killed — which span Garfield Park, Humboldt Park, Little Village and North Lawndale, the report found.
And a 2021 Block Club analysis found drivers on the West Side were stopped the most frequently by police — but the vast majority of stops didn’t lead to tickets.
During a Tuesday morning meeting by The Leaders Network at Columbus Park Refectory, 5701 W. Jackson Blvd., West Side faith leaders called for an independent, thorough investigation into Reed’s death, saying the incident raises questions.
“There are so many unanswered questions,” said Janette Wilson, senior adviser to the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. “Have they been reassigned? … What happened to the officers? What are their backgrounds? We need an independent investigation.”
Local organizations — including Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, GoodKids MadCity and the Chicago Torture Justice Center — are planning a news conference about the shooting 6 p.m. Tuesday outside 11th Police District headquarters, 3151 W. Harrison St.
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Amanda Smith is a dedicated U.S. correspondent with a passion for uncovering the stories that shape the nation. With a background in political science, she provides in-depth analysis and insightful commentary on domestic affairs, ensuring readers are well-informed about the latest developments across the United States.
