Man arrested for murder minutes after he announces lawsuit against police
Aamer Madhani
CHICAGO -- A 25-year-old man was arrested on an outstanding murder warrant on Wednesday, just minutes after he held a news conference with an attorney to announce a lawsuit against Chicago Police for a two-year-old incident in which he was shot by cops seven times.
Police detained Dominiq Greer after he walked out of his attorney Eugene Hollander's office, where the two took part in a news conference to announce the $15 million lawsuit against the city for the July 4, 2014 incident in which Greer was shot after an encounter with police.
Hollander's office said that Greer was taken into custody as he stood outside the downtown law office with his cousin and waited for an Uber ride to take them home.
Chicago Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said police arrested Greer on an open warrant for a May 27 murder that occurred in an apartment on the city's South Side. Police were still finalizing charges late Wednesday for the death of Kevin Larry, 22, who was found dead at the scene with a gunshot wound to the torso, a shooting authorities believe stemmed from a dispute during a dice game.
Guglielmi said that the department issued an intelligence bulletin to officers on the same day that Larry was killed, indicating Greer was armed and dangerous.
"Upon learning of the press conference, CPD dispatched a team of officers to apprehend him in connection with the murder," Guglielmi said. "He was taken into custody without incident."
The arrest came after Greer's attorney made video footage public Wednesday that appears to show Chicago Police shooting him multiple times as he is running away from two officers during an incident two years ago.
Greer, who was 23 at the time of the shooting, was wounded after he ran from officers who stopped him and his friends in one of the most violent Chicago neighborhoods on the city's South Side early on the morning of July 4, 2014. Greer, now 25, was one of four suspects Chicago Police shot during a 36-hour period that holiday weekend.
The footage appears to show Greer tossing a gun toward the roof of a building as he tried to flee from cops through an alleyway. Greer filed a $15 million lawsuit against the city over the incident on Wednesday.
The police officer who shot Greer told the agency tasked with investing police-involved shootings, the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA), that Greer's weapon discharged, which made the officer think he had been shot at.
The grainy footage from a business security camera is the latest in a series of officer-involved shootings by a Chicago cops to be captured on camera and made public.
Greer says he ran away from police officers who pulled up on him and two other friends after police received a report of a man with a gun. Greer, who had a previous felony conviction for drug possession, said that the officers, Lawrence Cosban and Kevin Spisak, told him to "get on the hood" of their squad car.
"I feared for my life, because I see how Chicago Police acts every day," Greer said. "I feel like the police, they're really the gang. They're ruling the street right now."
Greer, who acknowledges he was carrying a weapon that he had purchased illegally, fled toward an alley. He also admits he tried to toss the gun on the roof of a building as he ran away from Cosban and Spisak, who were later cleared of wrongdoing by IPRA.
But Greer charges in his lawsuit that Cosban used excessive force by shooting him seven times, including four times while Greer was on the ground. Greer told reporters that he asked the officers why they shot him as he lay on the ground, but they did not respond. Greer says he was wounded in the right arm, right leg, left big toe, back, chest stomach and left arm.
"At no time did Mr. Greer pose a danger to the police officers or the public," said Greer's attorney Eugene Hollander. "Because of this reckless shooting, my client will suffer from these injuries the rest of his life."
Chicago releases video, recordings from dozens of police shootings
Bill McCaffrey, a spokesman for the city's law department, declined to comment on the lawsuit.
The video appears to show Greer stumble and fall as he tosses his weapon. He can be seen getting up and stumbling once again after he says he struck by the first shots from police. He gets up one more time before running out of the camera's view. Three puffs of dust appear to kick up from apparent gunfire.
In its summary of the incident, IPRA noted that officers reported that Greer grabbed his waistband as he fled toward the nearby alley. Cosban, who is identified as Officer A in the report, entered the alley behind Greer and saw him surrounded by a large cloud of dust.
"Officer A ordered Subject 1 to show his hands and told him not to move," the IPRA report states. (Greer) ignored Officer A's verbal direction and stood up with his hands concealed. In fear for his life, Officer A fired his weapon, striking (Greer) multiple times."
Greer was awaiting trial for unlawful discharge of a weapon over the 2014 incident. He worked as a custodian prior to the incident, but said he has had difficulty completing strenuous activity or even holding his five-year-old son since he was shot.
Videos show teen running from Chicago cops when he's shot
Follow USA TODAY Chicago correspondent Aamer Madhani on Twitter: @AamerISmad