Chicago Cop Involved in Fatal Shooting of Unarmed Man Could've Been Fired Years Ago
Police acknowledge he could've been fired before either of his fatal shootings of unarmed people.
Chicago police officer John Poulos shot and killed 19-year-old Kajuan Raye during a foot chase last motnh—police claimed Raye had pointed a gun at Poulos, but police never recovered any weapon from the scene. According to the medical examiner, Raye was shot in the back. Raye's family is suing the police department.
Police superintendent Eddie Johnson said he had "concerns" about the incident, and Poulos was involved in another fatal shooting in 2013, when he said he saw an attempted burglary while returning from his family's bar. He hit the suspect with the butt of his gun and later cornered him and fatally shot him, saying he had seen his victim pull out a shiny object (he had no gun, only a chrome-colored watch).
But now, the Chicago Tribune reports, Poulos could have been terminated before either of the fatal shootings. According to the Tribune, an investigation into Poulos was opened in 2004 in relation to his ownership stake of his family's bar—Chicago police officers are prohibited from owning liquor establishments, but that investigation fell through the cracks. The police department insists it is preforming an audit to find out what happened.
In another mix-up, the police department pulled a cop off desk duty who had been involved in a fatal shooting and actually was suing the department over inadequate training. He had received no new training before returning to the streets. Between 2004 and 2013, Chicago spent half a billion dollars on various lawsuits against the police department.