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Derek Jordan

Age : 42

Gender : Male

Race : Black

Date : 03/09/2026

Location : 800 block of N Homan Avenue

City : Chicago

County : Cook

State : Illinois

Agency : Chicago Police Department

Officer(s) :Max W. Walzer

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police after police pursuit

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

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REASON FOR CHASE:
Police pursued Jordan because the vehicle he was driving was wanted in connection with an earlier shooting on Interstate 290.
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NARRATIVE:
On 03/09/2026, 42-year-old Derek Jordan was shot six times by Chicago Police Officer Max W. Walzer following a brief vehicle pursuit in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood. Jordan was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
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Chicago police alleged that the white Mercedes Jordan was driving was wanted in connection with a shooting earlier that day on Interstate 290 near Austin Boulevard. Police attempted an investigatory stop near Homan Avenue, and Jordan drove away. Police pursued the Mercedes for approximately a block and a half before it entered an alley in the 800 block of N Homan Avenue.
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The Mercedes became boxed in between a CTA bus, police vehicles and other vehicles. Video shows officers surrounding the car while Jordan repeatedly moved the Mercedes forward and backward, striking the bus and a police vehicle while attempting to get out of the confined area.
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Several officers were already surrounding the Mercedes when Officer Max W. Walzer arrived. Body-camera footage establishes that Walzer arrived with his gun drawn and immediately began screaming threats at Jordan.
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According to the body-camera footage and the subsequent lawsuit, approximately two seconds after arriving Walzer shouted that he would shoot Jordan. Within seconds he repeatedly ordered Jordan out of the vehicle and explicitly threatened to kill him.
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Approximately 20 seconds after Walzer arrived, he fired six consecutive rounds through the passenger-side window of the Mercedes, striking Jordan. Jordan was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital and died from the gunshot wounds.
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Police recovered a firearm from inside Jordan's vehicle. Police did not establish in their initial public account that Jordan fired the weapon during the encounter, and publicly released video does not establish that Jordan fired at police before Walzer shot him.
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The Civilian Office of Police Accountability opened investigation Log 2026-0001206 into Jordan's killing. COPA subsequently released body-camera video, third-party video, audio and Chicago Police Department records on 05/08/2026.
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The released footage substantially expanded the public record of the shooting. It shows Jordan's vehicle surrounded and repeatedly striking vehicles as he attempted to move it, while officers shouted commands. Walzer can be heard threatening to shoot and kill Jordan shortly before firing.
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Four days after Jordan's death, Walzer was relieved of his police powers. Public reporting has not established whether that action resulted specifically from Jordan's killing or from another matter.
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As of August 2026, COPA's investigation into Jordan's killing remained open.
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LAWSUIT:
On 08/06/2026, Jordan's mother, Christine Thompkins, acting as special administrator of his estate, filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court against the City of Chicago and Officer Max W. Walzer.
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The lawsuit alleges that Walzer unnecessarily escalated an encounter that other officers had under control. According to the complaint, officers already at the Mercedes were attempting to get Jordan out of the vehicle when Walzer arrived with his firearm drawn and immediately began threatening to shoot and kill him.
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The complaint alleges that when Walzer arrived, Jordan's Mercedes was already effectively trapped by the CTA bus, police vehicles and other vehicles and presented no immediate avenue of escape. The family contends that the circumstances called for de-escalation rather than immediate deadly force.
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The lawsuit emphasizes the extremely short period between Walzer's arrival and the shooting. According to the complaint and body-camera timestamps, Walzer began threatening Jordan approximately two seconds after arriving and fired six rounds approximately 20 seconds after reaching the scene.
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The lawsuit alleges that Walzer repeatedly threatened Jordan before firing, including explicitly telling him that he would kill him. Attorneys for Jordan's family contend those statements demonstrate that Walzer arrived in an uncontrolled and escalatory state rather than attempting to stabilize the encounter.
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The complaint further alleges that Jordan turned the vehicle's wheels away from Walzer and never displayed a weapon at Walzer before he was shot.
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The family alleges that Walzer's use of deadly force was willful and wanton and seeks damages from both Walzer and the City of Chicago. The complaint demands a jury trial.
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Jordan's family also disputes the implication that Jordan himself was responsible for the Interstate 290 shooting that caused police to seek the Mercedes. The police account established that the vehicle was wanted in connection with that shooting; the family's attorneys maintain that Jordan was being pursued because of the vehicle rather than because police had established that he was the shooter.
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The lawsuit places Walzer's own body-camera recording at the center of the case. The video documents his arrival, threats toward Jordan and the approximately 20-second interval preceding the fatal gunfire.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
Max W. Walzer was identified through the August 2026 civil lawsuit as the Chicago police officer who fired six rounds into Derek Jordan's vehicle.
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Walzer arrived after several other officers were already surrounding Jordan's Mercedes. His own body-camera footage records him approaching with his firearm drawn, repeatedly threatening to shoot and kill Jordan and firing approximately 20 seconds after arriving.
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Four days after Jordan's killing, Walzer was relieved of his police powers. Available public reporting has not established whether the action was directly caused by the Jordan shooting or by a separate matter.
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The Civilian Office of Police Accountability investigation into Walzer's shooting of Jordan remains open. No final COPA findings concerning the shooting have yet been published.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://abc7chicago.com/post/family-derek-jordan-man-killed-police-shooting-homan-chicago-avenues-humboldt-park-files-lawsuit/19658872/
https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/08/10/officer-who-fatally-shot-derek-jordan-came-in-unjustifiably-hot-attorney-says-in-filing-lawsuit/
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/lawsuit-alleges-chicago-police-officer-shot-killed-man-instead-de-escalating/
https://chicago.suntimes.com/public-safety/2026/08/10/derek-jordan-shooting-cpd-police-traffic-stop-family-lawsuit-romanucci
https://chicago.suntimes.com/police-reform/2026/05/11/chicago-police-shooting-cpd-derek-jordan-humboldt-park-body-cam
https://abc7chicago.com/post/copa-releases-body-camera-video-deadly-chicago-police-officer-shooting-derek-jordan-homan-avenue-humboldt-park/19066468/
https://abc7chicago.com/post/chicago-man-derek-jordan-killed-cpd-shooting-homan-avenue-humboldt-park-cook-county-medical-examiner/18710688/
https://abc7chicago.com/post/chicago-police-officer-involved-deadly-shooting-derek-jordan-homan-avenue-humboldt-park-relieved-powers-cpd-says/18742583/
https://www.chicagocopa.org/case/2026-0001206/
https://www.chicagocopa.org/press/copa-provides-update-on-fatal-officer-involved-shooting-near-800-n-homan/
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/chicago-police-officer-relieved-of-powers-after-fatal-humboldt-park-shooting