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Quintonio LeGrier's 911 Calls Released: 'Can You Please Send the Police?'

By Ted Cox | January 25, 2016 4:53pm | Updated on January 25, 2016 5:10pm

CITY HALL — On the day he was shot dead by a Chicago Police officer, 19-year-old Quintonio LeGrier called 911 multiple times, including to say, "Someone's been threatening my life," according to 911 calls released Monday.

The Independent Police Review Authority released four 911 calls Monday, including the calls from LeGrier and his father, Antonio LeGrier, that were previously acknowledged by police. Antonio LeGrier's 911 call, the last of the four, got police sent to their home on the 4700 block of West Erie Street on Dec. 26.

After police arrived, Quintonio LeGrier, who was reportedly wielding a baseball bat, was shot and killed by police. Also shot dead was Bettie Jones, a downstairs neighbor accidentally struck by a police bullet. Wrongful-death suits have been filed against the city in both incidents.

Chicago Police had previously revealed that both Quintonio LeGrier and his father had placed 911 calls shortly after 4:20 a.m. Dec. 26. The earlier two calls, "uncovered during the course of the pending investigation," according to IPRA, were made at 4:18 and 4:20 a.m., both apparently from Quintonio LeGrier.

"In addition to the 911 calls we believe were placed by Antonio LeGrier and Quintonio LeGrier immediately preceding the incident and which resulted in officers being dispatched to their residence, we now believe that Quintonio LeGrier placed two earlier calls to 911 requesting police assistance which did not result in a service call,” said Chief Administrator Sharon Fairley.

In the first, after giving the address, he pleads, "I just need an officer over there, OK?" Yet he won't identify himself as anything other than "Q."

"No, it don't work like that. What's your emergency?" Says the 911 agent on the first call.

"Someone's threatening my life," Quintonio says.

"What's the last name?"

"Can you just send an officer?"

"Yeah, when you answer the question."

"I need the police," Quintonio says.

"Terminate the call," says the 911 agent.

The second call from Quintonio LeGrier, at 4:20, is much the same, but shorter.

In his third and final 911 call, at 4:21, he begins again, "Can you please send the police?" He adds, "Someone's threatening my life," adding, "They're out of the house."

Yet he then gives up, uttering a profanity, saying, "Aw, [screw] this," and adding, "[Screw] it," followed by mumbling.

"Do you need the police or no?" The 911 agent says, adding, "Any weapons involved?"

"Nah," Quintonio says, but then that call breaks down as well with him saying, "Stop [expletive] playing with me."

Only when an out-of-breath Antonio LeGrier follows with a call at 4:24 saying, "My son's freaking out" and "he's got a baseball bat in his hand" does the 911 agent tell him to "wait for the police."

Shortly after police arrived, Quintonio LeGrier and Bettie Jones were shot and killed.

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