Chicago Police Shoots Unarmed Teenager

Two more names can now be added to the ever-growing list of innocent black Americans killed by police. In late December, 19 year old Quintonio LeGrier of Chicago was reported to be outside his father’s door with a baseball bat. LeGrier was a student at Northern Illinois University, and was studying to become an engineer. According to LeGrier’s father, Quintonio had a history of mental illness and had difficulties controlling his emotions. LeGrier’s mother stated tearfully that her son had never resorted to violence due to emotions, but that he would sometimes become loud.

LeGrier’s father called the police, hoping that the trained officers would know how to handle his son and calm him down. He never thought that they would immediately shoot and kill Quintonio instead of attempting to help him.

When police arrived at the scene around 4:25 AM, they shot Quintonio seven times, despite him posing no threat to them, killing him almost immediately. Bettie Jones, LeGrier’s 55 year old neighbor, opened the door to see what was going on, and was also shot by the police. Her daughter, Latesha, states that she felt her mother breathing as they carried her away. Jones later died at the hospital.

Many Americans hold the belief that police officers are meant to serve and protect American citizens. This is most likely the belief held by Quintonio’s father, who wanted the police to help his son through the emotional instability he was facing. After all, it’s not uncommon to hear about policemen talking down armed individuals instead of killing them. It was logical of LeGrier’s father to believe that the police would not harm his son, seeing as Quintonio had not harmed anyone and was only allegedly wielding a baseball bat. However, the police officers decided that Quintonio was so dangerous that he had to be shot seven times. LeGrier’s attorney has stated that the police officer who shot at Quintonio was 20 feet away from the victim when he opened fire, which does not match up with the police description of the incident. If LeGrier’s attorney is correct, then it only strengthens the argument that American policemen are growing more and more attuned to the motto “Shoot first, ask questions later.”

After Quintonio was shot, the police refused to give him any paramedic attention, according to Quintonio’s father. They also would not tell his father whether Quintonio was alive or dead, but instead held him for questioning for hours.

Bettie Jones was a mother of seven children. Her death was described by police as “accidental and tragic.” Her brother, Melvin Jones, has expressed a less-than-optimistic view on the possibility of investigation. “We all know how that will turn out,” he said.

Hopefully, this incident will prompt the Chicago Police Department to better train their officers for situations involving emotionally unstable subjects. Quintonio could have been easily saved if the right officer was on the case.