A 25-year-old Indianapolis man was shot by a Chicago police officer after a road rage incident went south over the weekend.
The man, identified as Joshua Beal, was in the Windy City to take part in a funeral. According to CBS Chicago, Beal and his family were part of a funeral procession in Mount Greenwood during the time. The initial police report from Saturday, Nov. 5 states that Beal and passengers in his vehicle got into a heated argument with an off-duty firefighter.
It all began after a fireman told Beal he was illegally blocking a fire lane. Subsequently, passengers left the vehicle and an altercation ensued after the firefighter allegedly rammed their car, per CBS Chicago.
Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson told media that an off-duty cop saw the altercation. At the time he was inside a barber shop and intervened. Johnson said the cop announced that he was an officer, but Beal’s family members dispute that claim.
“Chicago police gunned my baby down like a vicious animal,” Beal’s mother Tiffany Boxley tells reporters.
“My brother is one who is licensed to carry his gun wherever he goes,” Beal’s sister Cordney Boxley retorts. “This man never identified himself, never said anything. He just started shooting through the windshield of my brother’s car.”
Police also state that a uniformed sergeant on his way to Morgan Park District station announced that he was an officer. The cop reportedly commanded Beal to put down his gun, but the 25-year-old allegedly refused. Then shots were exchanged. Beal was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at a nearby hospital.
Eyewitness video documented the incident, and it shows a plainclothes officer pointing his weapon at Beal. The video did not capture the actual shooting, but it did capture the audio.
“We received this same photograph today and we are currently analyzing it to determine its authenticity and origin. While it appears to be the offender, we cannot say for certain until the analysis is complete,” police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi wrote in an email.
Others involved had non-threatening injuries. Officers were placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the Independent Police Review Authority.
Immediately after the shooting, Black Lives Matter Chicago activists came out to support the family not protest the shooting that Saturday. Activist Kofi Ademola and his group never intended to have a demonstration but they were still verbally accosted by white men, per DNAInfo.
“A young white guy [walked] up with a baseball bat,” Ademola said. “The police took the baseball bat from him. White people are driving by and yelling at us ‘n—rs go home!’ Get the f— out of here! Blue Lives Matter.’ More of them got out of the car and chanted ‘CPD! Blue Lives Matter.’”
Both groups were separated by officers on scene. Here are a series of videos from the fracas:
#Justice4Joshua
Posted by Black Lives Matter Chicago on Saturday, November 5, 2016
Posted by Black Lives Matter Chicago on Saturday, November 5, 2016
Posted by Black Lives Matter Chicago on Saturday, November 5, 2016
