Paul O’Neal, 18, shown unarmed in body camera footage from 28 July despite accusations that he was opening fire at officers, who fatally shot him in the back

Chicago police called a black teenager a “bitch ass motherfucker” as he lay dying from a police gunshot wound, “shocking and disturbing” body camera footage released on Friday showed.

The footage also revealed that officers gave each other handshakes, complained they would be relegated to desk duty having shot at 18 year-old Paul O’Neal and accused the unarmed teenager of opening fire on them in the moments after O’Neal was shot in the back.

O’Neal was killed 28 July, after allegedly stealing a Jaguar sports car. The body camera footage shows that two officers opened fire on the stolen vehicle as it sped past them, an apparent violation of departmental policy which explicitly prevents officers from firing at moving vehicles.

The Jaguar then collides with a second patrol car and O’Neal exits and flees, jumping over a fence into a garden where he is then shot and killed. The fatal shooting itself is not captured on camera, as police said the officer who opened fire was wearing a body camera that did not record the incident.

Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said on Monday an investigation was underway to determine why the camera did not work. Authorities do not believe the officer intentionally turned off the camera.

The released footage threatens to further exacerbate tensions between the public and the police in Chicago, following a spate of high-profile killings that prompted a federal investigation and the firing of the city’s police chief at the end of last year.

Three officers involved in the incident have been stripped of their duties by new police superintendent Eddie Johnson. Johnson said it appeared officers had violated departmental protocols, after viewing the footage.

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Seemingly seconds after O’Neal is shot, video shows that five officers swarm on him and thick pool of blood is visible on his shirt. One officer calls him a “bitch ass motherfucker” as another accuses the unarmed teenager of opening fire. He is then handcuffed as officers search his backpack. One officer then states: “They shot at us too, right?”

Shortly afterwards, one white officer who is crouched on the ground expresses concern he may have been shot by the unarmed teenager. He strips off his body armor and rolls up his trousers and states: “My fucking knee hurts, my fucking arm hurts.” Other officers inspect him and state: “It doesn’t look like you’re shot.”

As one of the officers who opened fire on the stolen vehicle walks away from O’Neal’s body he can be seen hugging and shaking hands with another officer who arrives on the scene. Seconds later the second officer who opened fire on the Jaguar states: “Fuck, I’m gonna be on desk [duty] for 30 goddamn days.”

Due to the graphic nature of the videos, the agency invited O’Neal’s family to view the footage prior to its release. On Friday, they were not able to take questions and a spokesperson was not made available.

“We just watched the family watch the execution of their loving son,” said Michael Oppenheimer, the family’s lawyer. “It is one of the most horrific things that I have seen aside from being in a movie. These police, these police officers decided to play judge, jury and executioner.

“It was a cold-blooded killing. You don’t even shoot – you shouldn’t even shoot dogs that are running away.”

Oppenheimer called for a special prosecutor in the case. The family has already filed a civil rights lawsuit against the Chicago police department.

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The chief administrator of the Chicago Independent Police Review Authority, Sharon Fairley, released a statement before the release of the video footage, in which she said: “As shocking and disturbing as it is, [the footage] is not the only evidence to be gathered and analyzed when conducting a fair and thorough assessment of [the] conduct of police officers in performing their duties.”

The footage was released only eight days after the incident, potentially signaling a new transparency drive after regular protests against the city’s police department. Civil rights groups approved of the swift release.

“Prompt release of such videos improve transparency and will improve the public input in the city’s efforts for police reform,” said Karen Sheley, the director of the Police Practices Project.



Activists in Chicago have formed an encampment outside the Homan Square police facility, about which the Guardian has reported extensively, in an attempt to see it closed down. Black Lives Matter activists have a march planned on Sunday, in memory of O’Neal.