CHICAGO, June 8 (UPI) -- A few minutes after a man announced he was suing the city of Chicago for $15 million for police wrongfully shooting him, he was arrested on a murder warrant.
Dominiq Greer, 25, -- a convicted felon -- was arrested outside the law office where he held the press conference on Wednesday, for the May 27 shooting death of 22-year-old Kevin Larry. The warrant was issued May 29, but he has not been formally charged.
"I had no clue," said his lawyer Eugene Hollander, who hosted the 10 a.m. conference. "It's definitely a surprise to me. He was going to grab an Uber back home and as he was waiting a squad car pulled up."
Chicago Police saw the press conference as an opportunity to pick up a wanted man.
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"We became aware he was holding a press conference for a civil suit against the police department, and the police department doesn't wait to apprehend people accused of murder," said Anthony Guglielmi, chief spokesman for the department.
Greer and Hollander told reporters about the lawsuit filed in federal court Wednesday, that Greer was wrongfully shot seven times by a police officer during a chase on July 4, 2014. Greer acknowledged that he was armed when police approached, then tried to toss the gun as he ran from police.
A police oversight agency later concluded Greer's gun fired when it hit the ground, causing the officer to open fire in reaction.
Prosecutors said on May 27, officers responded to a call of shots fired and found Kevin Larry, 22, dead from a gunshot wound to the chest.
Greer has been arrested at least 20 times since 2007, mostly for marijuana possession or trespassing charges that were eventually dropped, according to court records. He was convicted of marijuana possession in 2011 and pleaded guilty to domestic battery in 2013 and was sentenced to probation.
