Death by Cop 2021-2025
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Dexter Reed
Gender : Male
Age : 24
Race : Black
Date : 03/21/2024
Location : 3800-block of West Ferdinand Street
City : Chicago Garfield Park
County : Cook
State : Illinois
Agency : Chicago Police Department
Officer(s) :Not Disclosed
Cause of Death : Gunshot
Event : Killed by police during traffic stop
OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :
On March 21, 2024, 26-year-old Dexter Reed was fatally shot by Chicago Police Department (CPD) officers during a traffic stop in the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago. The incident began when plainclothes officers sideswiped his vehicle, then initiated a traffic stop, initially citing Reed for not wearing a seat belt; this was later revised to a violation for illegally tinted windows. Family calls it a pretextual traffic stop. Reed fired his weapon, injuring an officer. It is not clear if and when he realized that the people in civilian clothing who hit his car and forced him to stop were officers. The incident escalated quickly and four CPD officers fired a total of 96 rounds within 41 seconds, striking Reed 13 times, killing him.
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Following the killing, the four shooters, Thomas Spanos, Victor Pacheco, Gregory Saint Louis and Aubrey Webb, were placed on administrative leave. As of September 2024, all four officers remained on leave with pay, pending the outcome of an investigation by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA). COPA recommended that these officers be relieved of their police powers due to concerns about their use of deadly force and the validity of the traffic stop. However, CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling declined to suspend their police powers during the investigation.
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One of the officers involved in the shooting, identified as Alexandra Giampapa, resigned from the CPD in December 2024. Shortly thereafter, she secured a position with the Westerville Division of Police in Ohio. This development has raised concerns among Reed's family and police reform advocates, who fear that Giampapa may be evading accountability for her role in the incident.
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Legal Actions and Settlements
In April 2024, Dexter Reed's family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Chicago and the involved officers, alleging that Reed's civil rights were violated during the traffic stop and subsequent shooting. By December 2024, the city reached an undisclosed settlement with Reed's mother. Some city officials expressed concerns that the settlement was reached too hastily, especially considering that a police officer was injured during the incident.
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The shooting has sparked significant public outcry and demands for changes in CPD's traffic stop policies, particularly regarding stops for minor infractions such as equipment violations. COPA's investigation is ongoing, focusing on the officers' use of force and the legitimacy of the initial traffic stop. The findings of this investigation are pending and will play a crucial role in determining any further actions or policy reforms within the CPD.
SOURCE LINKS :
https://abc7chicago.com/chicago-police-shooting-officer-shot-garfield-park-shootout-west-ferdinand-street/14557346/
https://wgntv.com/news/chicagocrime/cpd-make-your-own-decisions-about-footage-of-deadly-officer-involved-shooting-to-be-released-tuesday/
https://abc7chicago.com/post/dexter-reed-shooting-city-says-man-killed-chicago-police-was-stopped-tinted-windows-contradicting-earlier-claim/15124106/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc7kV67pPSw
https://thetriibe.com/2025/01/organizers-family-worry-chicago-cop-who-shot-dexter-reed-is-escaping-accountability-with-new-job-in-ohio/
