VIDEO: Chicago Police Shoot Unarmed Subway Rider After Altercation

New videos emerged Wednesday of a confrontation between a Chicago police officer and a subway rider that ended with the officer shooting the rider in the back. Additional footage and files were released by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.

The incident occurred on Feb. 28, 2020, when two officers got into a physical altercation with a resident identified as Ariel Roman, 33. Roman had allegedly moved illegally between cars while the subway was in motion. Two officers on the subway followed Roman off the train and stopped him on the subway platform as the train departed.

After speaking with the officers for several minutes, Roman is seen on video going into his backpack for an unknown item. This sparked the physical confrontation between the three as the officers tried to take Roman off to the side. He resisted as the three began struggling to the nearby escalator when one officer tackles Roman while the other continued to handcuff him.

“I didn’t do nothing to you,” Roman reportedly shouted at the officers, who used a taser and pepper spray to try and subdue him. One officer also told the other to shoot Roman because of how hard he was resisting.

Roman manages to make it back to his feet, but is immediately shot in the abdomen by one officer when he moves towards the other officer. Roman then tries to flee up the escalator and is shot a second time in the back before collapsing.

Roman was rushed to a nearby hospital to undergo surgery for his wounds and is expected to make a full recovery. He was then charged with resisting arrest and possession of narcotics, which were later dismissed.

Both officers reportedly suffered blunt force trauma and lacerations from the altercation.

“As the civilian-led administrative investigative agency of police misconduct, immediately following the incident, COPA recommended the two involved Chicago Police Department officers be relieved of police powers due to the serious nature of both officer’s actions and the Department concurred,” the accountability office said in a statement.

The incident is under investigation and the two officers involved have been stripped of their power pending its completion. Criminal charges may also be filed against the two should the investigation deem the shooting unjustified.

Roman has since filed a lawsuit against the city of Chicago for the incident. The suit alleges one of the officers who shot Roman was hired by the city despite knowing she had been arrested for assaulting a fast-food worker in 2015.

“This shooting is a significant example of police not complying with the consent decree,” Roman’s attorney, Andrew M. Stroth, told reporters. “They failed to de-escalate when someone only violated a city ordinance and who they knew wasn't armed.”