Eddie Johnson says it was the fastest he's ever ordered body-worn camera video released. He says there's no question that 37-year-old Harith Augustus was armed when officers encountered him Saturday on Chicago's South Side.
Johnson says police stopped Augustus when an officer noticed a gun in a holster peeking out from under the man's T-shirt. He says the holstered gun was tucked in the man's waistband. He added that the gun was a semiautomatic handgun but that he's not sure what caliber.
The police superintendent says he wanted to maintain calm in the city to avoid a repeat of protests that escalated Saturday night.
However,protesters angry about the killing Saturday took to the streets in a city that's struggled with police shootings, especially against black men and other minorities. Some threw rocks and bottles at officers and police pulled people to the ground and hit them with batons.
"The community needs some answers and they need them now," he told reporters Sunday. "We can't have another night like last night."
He said Augustus' family was in favor of releasing the video for the same reason.
Four protesters were arrested in the clash, and some police officers suffered minor injuries. Two squad cars also were damaged.
The video, which lacks sound, shows four officers approaching Augustus outside a store on the city's South Side. An officer points to Augustus' waist and he backs away. Three officers try to grab his arms and he tries to get away, backing into a police cruiser as his shirt flies up and shows the gun.
The footage pauses and zooms in on the weapon, which police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said was done to ensure a semi-automatic handgun in its holster and two bullet magazines tucked into Augustus' waist could be seen clearly.
Augustus then runs away and into the street as a police SUV drives up. He spins and darts between the SUV and the police cruiser as he reaches toward his waist.
Augustus did not fire his weapon and the footage does not show him pulling the gun out of its holster, though he does appear to try to grab something at his waist, Guglielmi said. Police also released a 50-second slow-motion clip showing Augustus reaching toward his waist. It's not clear if he was going for the weapon.
Augustus died of multiple gunshots wounds, medical examiners said. He wasn't a known gang member and had no recent arrest history, Guglielmi said.
Johnson said Augustus had a valid firearm owners' identification card but detectives have found no documentation that he had a permit to carry a concealed weapon.
Chicago has a troubled history of police shootings. The city erupted in protest in 2015 after the release of a video showing a white police officer shoot a black 17-year-old, Laquan McDonald, 16 times a year earlier.
