CHICAGO (WLS) — Chicago Civil Police Accountability Office released videos Wednesday morning the fatal police shooting of Reginald Clay Jr. who is 24 years old.
COPA released video and other material from the shooting, which took place on April 15 in the 3800 block of West Flournoy Street.
The Clay family spoke out Tuesday night after seeing Chicago police agency camera video of the incident.
The family said the shooting was unjustifiable and devastating to watch.
“That's something hard to watch,” said Reginald Clay Sr.'s father. “I felt like my heart was ripped out of my chest when I saw her.”
Graphic video.
ABC7 Chicago shows a video of the main cop, who is silent.
There is no sound because the first 30 seconds of bodycam videos never have sound.
In the video, it's daytime, and a police foot chase runs fast into an alley.
The chase is seen climbing up some stairs and around a corner, ending with a fatal encounter for Clay.
In a slower version of the same video, Clay is seen with what police say is a gun.
“As the officer turned the corner, the most convincing evidence was that the individual held up a gun and raised it as if he were going to point it at the officer at that moment. He was an imminent threat to the officer. He was totally justified in using lethal force in that situation,” said Ed Farrell, former deputy US marshal in Chicago and ABC7 Chicago law enforcement expert.
Investigating authorities are examining the videos to determine who did what and when and how it was uncovered.
COPA has not come to any conclusions.
RELATED: Family demands answers after police shoot, kill gunman in Lawndale
The agency will ultimately make a decision and release findings based on the video, documentation and other statements. That's for another day.
The release of the video is part of the city's police transparency efforts.
It usually takes months or years for it to be released. This just happened last month.
COPA said the incident began when two officers engaged a group of people in the area, and, as officers got out of their vehicle, Clay began to drive away.
A foot chase began, and Clay ran down an alley with no way out, COPA said.
He turned to exit the alley, toward officers, and an officer fatally shot him, COPA said.
Clay brought a gun to him, which was found, COPA said.
Clay's family said the video shows him dropping a weapon he was lawfully allowed to carry during a chase with police in the Lawndale neighborhood on April 15.
“When he got to the other corner, and saw it was a dead end, and then he came here, I saw blood on the front of his shirt. They had shot him,” Reginald Clay Sr. said.
Farrell said there was no legal authority to point a gun at law enforcement officials.
“Do you have concealed carry, or a FOID card, which basically says you can legally own it in the state of Illinois. It doesn't give you the authority to raise a gun at an officer in a threatening manner, where the officer will assume you used lethal force against them. They are two different things,” Farrell said.
Clay's family said he was meeting friends on the street before heading to the funeral that day when police pulled up.
The police said they were in the area to defuse the gang conflict that day. They said Clay turned around at the end of the alley and brandished a gun.
Anyone with information or video footage regarding the incident is asked to contact COPA at 312-746-3609 or by visiting ChicagoCOPA.org.