Newly released video footage has shed light on a fatal incident in Chicago earlier this year, where police shot and killed Tracey Watson. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) released the footage, which shows the events leading up to the shooting on May 27 in the South Austin neighborhood.

 

According to a preliminary statement from the Chicago Police Department (CPD), officers on routine patrol witnessed Watson attempting to stab another man on the 300 block of South Cicero Avenue. COPA, in a statement released this week, confirmed that officers had been flagged down after seeing a man attacking someone with an “unknown weapon.”

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“The officers exited their vehicle and gave verbal commands to the individual to drop their weapon,” said COPA. “The individual failed to comply with the officers’ commands, resulting in both officers discharging their firearms, striking both the individual and victim.”

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Watson’s family has claimed that he was acting in self-defense, stating that he and two cousins were attacked prior to the shooting. However, body camera footage from the two officers involved shows Watson disregarding police commands to “put the gun down” as he repeatedly lunged at the other man, who was already on the ground.

 

One officer fired two shots, followed by a second officer firing approximately 10 more shots. Watson collapsed to the ground and lost his life, while the second man was critically injured and hospitalized, according to police reports.

 

In the video, a man claiming to be Watson’s cousin can be heard questioning the officers’ use of force. “You coulda tased him, bro,” he said. “Why didn’t you tase him?”

 

As more officers and squad vehicles arrived at the scene, an officer who had fired his weapon informed others that Watson had been wielding a knife during the altercation. However, it is unclear whether the weapon was ultimately recovered.

 

The footage shows officers applying tourniquets to both Watson and the injured man, administering life-saving measures as they lay on the street. One of the officers who fired shots kneeled down beside the second man, urging him to “stay with us” while waiting for medical assistance.