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Video shows Chicago cop in unmarked car shoot unarmed, autistic man

By Ray Downs

Oct. 18 (UPI) -- Chicago's Civilian Office of Police Accountability released surveillance video that shows an off-duty Chicago police officer in an unmarked pickup truck shooting an unarmed, autistic teenager.

Ricardo Hayes, who was 18-years-old at the time, survived the shooting and has filed a federal lawsuit against the Chicago Police Department.

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"Ricky wasn't doing anything wrong. He wasn't breaking any laws. He wasn't armed. He didn't initiate contact with this officer," Hayes' attorney, Gabriel Hardy, told WLS-TV.

Sergeant Khalil Muhammad of the CPD was driving a black, unmarked truck through Chicago's Morgan Park neighborhood in the early morning of August 13, 2017, when he saw Hayes on the sidewalk.

Video shows Muhammad pulling up to within about 20 to 30 feet of Hayes, who stops. Hayes then takes two steps toward the truck and Muhammad shoots him in the chest and arm.

Muhammad called 911 and said he had to shoot because he was in fear for his life.

"The guy pulled like he was about to pull a gun on me, walked up to the car, and I had to shoot," Muhammad is heard saying in the 911 call.

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No weapons were found on Hayes or anywhere at the scene.

The Illinois chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union said Hayes "needed help from the police because he had left his home late at night and gotten lost."

"Instead of receiving help, an off-duty Chicago Police officer chased and shot him multiple times without even getting out of his vehicle first," the ACLU said in a statement. "As a black teenager with disabilities, Ricky was at a heightened risk for police violence. Thankfully, he survived - but he should never have been shot. The video shows both that there was no justification for the officer to shoot him and that initial stories told by CPD officials about the shooting -- that the 'encounter escalated' -- were false."

Mohammad has been suspended with pay since the shooting occurred more than 14 months ago.

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