New Video Shows Man Killed By Chicago Cops ‘Posed No Threat,’ Lawyers For Family Say
Chicago police said Roberto Calvario Jr. accelerated his car and dragged an officer last month, prompting the officer to fire his weapon. But lawyers for Calvario’s family say body cam footage contradicts that narrative. WEST RIDGE — Newly released body camera footage of the fatal police shooting of Roberto Calvario Jr. in West Ridge late last year “contradicts the narrative” put forth by the police department, according to lawyers for Calvario’s family.
Calvario, 20, was shot and killed by officer José Salazar the evening of Dec. 9 in the 5700 block of North Washtenaw Avenue, where Salazar and his partner were investigating a possible stolen BMW parked on the block, according to police and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, the city’s police watchdog agency.
The officers noticed a car pull up next to the BMW, and Calvario and another man exited their car and attempted to enter the BMW, according to police and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.
Salazar and his partner, Gilberto Gomez, approached the two men. One of the men ran off while Calvario tried to get back inside the driver’s seat of the car he was driving, according to police and body camera footage released by the police watchdog group.
WEST RIDGE — Newly released body camera footage of the fatal police shooting of Roberto Calvario Jr. in West Ridge late last year “contradicts the narrative” put forth by the police department, according to lawyers for Calvario’s family.
Calvario, 20, was shot and killed by officer José Salazar the evening of Dec. 9 in the 5700 block of North Washtenaw Avenue, where Salazar and his partner were investigating a possible stolen BMW parked on the block, according to police and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, the city’s police watchdog agency.
The officers noticed a car pull up next to the BMW, and Calvario and another man exited their car and attempted to enter the BMW, according to police and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.
Salazar and his partner, Gilberto Gomez, approached the two men. One of the men ran off while Calvario tried to get back inside the driver’s seat of the car he was driving, according to police and body camera footage released by the police watchdog group.
Body camera footage shows Salazar shouting at Calvario to “stop” before and as he gets back into the car, though a struggle between them is largely not visible on the footage. While Gomez’s body camera footage shows Calvario briefly being dragged, the exact moment the shot was fired is unclear on both Salazar and Gomez’s body camera video.
Salazar’s body-worn camera picks up the sound of one gunshot and shows the officer falling to the ground as the car rolls down the residential street before hitting a parked car.
Calvario was struck in the back of the head, footage shows.
The officers are then seen pulling Calvario out of the car and removing his shirt before trying to render aid. A 20-year-old woman who was riding as a passenger in the car is brought out and handcuffed, the footage shows. Blood pooled from the back of Calvario’s head onto the street, and he appears unresponsive in the footage. Police are seen removing a gun from his waistband as he lays in the street, and another gun was also recovered at the scene, the police accountability agency said.
An ambulance arrives about 10 minutes after the shooting. Calvario was later pronounced dead at Illinois Masonic Medical Center, police said.
