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Rogers Park Police Shooting a Case of 'Suicide by Cop:' Union Spokesman

By Paul Biasco | July 4, 2014 1:09pm | Updated on July 7, 2014 8:32am
 A man was shot in the 1500 block of West Birchwood Avenue, authorities said.
A man was shot in the 1500 block of West Birchwood Avenue, authorities said.
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DNAinfo/Quinn Ford

ROGERS PARK — Chicago police officers shot a man in a Rogers Park courtyard late Friday morning, during what the police union spokesman called a case of "suicide by police" — in which a person intentionally tries to get police to shoot him.

The victim, a 45-year-old man, survived the shooting in the 1500 block of West Birchwood Avenue, but was left in critical condition, according to authorities.

Officers fired multiple shots at the man after a foot chase, said Pat Camden, a police union spokesman.

Police were confronted by the man in a backyard gangway area and the man stopped and yelled "I have a gun, you'll have to shoot me," while reaching for his waistband and turning toward the officers, according to a Chicago Police Department statement.

The officers then fired at the man, fearing for their lives, the statement said.

After the man was shot he began thanking police for shooting him, Camden said.

The man, who was wanted on a parole violation, did not have a weapon, Camden said.

"This looks like a classic suicide by cop," Camden said.

The incident began at the corner of Howard Street and Greenview Avenue about 11:20 a.m. when an officer tried to talk to the victim about drinking a beer on the street, Camden said.

The man then took off running down Greenview to Birchwood, through a building and into the courtyard where the shooting took place.

Camden said multiple witnesses heard the victim tell police he had a gun and that the officers should shoot him before he shot them.

Chicago Fire Department Spokesman Larry Langford said paramedics arrived at the scene around 11:25 a.m. and took the victim to Presence Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston in serious to critical condition.

The Rogers Park shooting was the second by a police officer Friday.

Just after 4 a.m. police shot a man in Greater Grand Crossing who pulled a gun and fired toward an officer.

The officer returned fire, striking the man in his chest and arm.

Police recovered a semiautomatic gun from the man.

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