2 Chicago cops charged with felonies connected to on-duty shooting in Pilsen in July, contradicting early police narrative

Two Chicago police officers have been hit with felony charges of aggravated battery and official misconduct in connection with a shooting in Pilsen this summer that seriously injured a man, with prosecutors saying they now believe the facts of the case diverge from early versions of the events given by the Chicago Police Department.

Sgt. Christopher Liakopoulos, 43, who has been with the Department since 2001, and Officer Ruben Reynoso, 42, who has worked at CPD since 2003, were charged and have been relieved of their police powers.

Cook County Associate Judge Maryam Ahmad set $25,000 bonds for both during a hearing Friday afternoon. They are expected back in court Monday.

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx announced the charges at a Friday morning news conference.

“It is our position based on the facts, the evidence and the law, that the officers involved in this incident did not have provocation or justification to shoot the unarmed victim during this incident,” Foxx said about the man who was seriously injured. “The evidence does not support the use of deadly force related to the shooting of the unarmed victim and was not lawful.”

The officers, both assigned to the Major Accident Investigation Unit, were in an unmarked car on their way to police headquarters for training on July 22 about 7 a.m. and were westbound in the 1000 block of West 18th Street street near Miller Street when the shooting took place, authorities have said.

In court Friday, Assistant State’s Attorney Alyssa Janicki said Liakopolous stopped and backed up when the pair of officers spotted several people outside of a closed business.

After the officers asked three males what they were doing, the victim, holding a wine bottle and a cellphone in one hand and nothing in the other, and a juvenile who wore a satchel across his body that contained a gun, started to approach the police car.

Before the two reached the passenger side, the teen turned and began to run away from the car, while the 23-year-old continued to walk forward with both hands in view, waving at the officers with his empty hand, prosecutors said.

Reynoso, in the front passenger seat, allegedly reached his arm outside of the passenger side window and pointed a gun in the direction of the 23-year-old, Janicki said. Liakopoulos reached across and also pointed his gun out the passenger side window, she said, and both fired multiple shots at the man, who was hit in his back and a leg.

After the officers fired shots, the juvenile kept running across the street, prosecutors said, and then fired multiple times at the officers, Janicki said. The officers returned fire, shooting at him multiple times. The boy was not shot but a pedestrian near him who was not involved in the incident was grazed, Janicki said.

Immediately after the shooting, police had raised questions about who fired first. Chicago police Superintendent David Brown told reporters that after one officer identified himself to the group outside the closed business, one of the people in the group pulled out a handgun, sparking an exchange of gunfire.

Brown earlier said both officers got out of their vehicle and that the shooter, while running away, continued to fire shots at the officers. Prosecutors suggested the initial contradictions might be blamed on alleged untruthfulness from the officers who have now been charged.

The officers initially told the state’s attorney’s office that they did not know who shot first but said the juvenile pointed the gun at them before any shots were fired, which was contradicted in recovered surveillance video, Janicki said.

After the shooting, authorities at first said they were investigating the juvenile for possible charges, and during an interview, the officers said they shot “only after” they were fired upon by the juvenile. The officers later said they were not sure who fired first but said the juvenile pointed a gun at them before any shots were fired, Janicki said.

A few days later investigators obtained the video of the attack, which “directly contradicted” what the officers initially said to detectives, Janicki said.

The video showed “no indication” that the juvenile fired any shots before the defendants, but the juvenile can be seen on video using a gun after the officer and sergeant both fired their weapons, Janicki said.

In court, Brian Sexton, the attorney on behalf of Reynoso, said, “It’s not clear who fired first” based on the surveillance video, but that it didn’t matter because the footage does show the juvenile had a gun in his hand.

Sexton said Reynoso was in the front passenger seat of the car when he believed “some gang members” were tagging the door of a closed business on his right side. He showed the group his badge and told them to “knock it off” when surveillance footage apparently shows the 23-year-old and the juvenile walking toward the car and the 23-year-old “make a gesture like pointing,” Sexton said.

“This all happened within two seconds,” Sexton said. “My client saw the juvenile gunman come up with the gun from the satchel bag and pointed toward that. He immediately withdrew his holster, and he fired one shot in the car.”

Liakopoulos also reached over Reynoso from the driver’s seat and fired a shot from inside the car, which left a burn on Reynoso’s nose, Sexton said.

Sexton said Reynoso was “focused on the guy with the gun” during the entire exchange and “never pointed or fired in the direction of the victim.”

He said the state’s attorney’s office charged the case “way too soon” and has no way to prove that Reynoso’s weapon was the one that injured the 23-year-old.

Reynoso’s attorney then went on to say in court that Reynoso has had “serious health issues” since the shooting, including heart palpitations, blood pressure “through the roof,” and that he was hospitalized.

Sexton also noted that Reynoso had not been out of the hospital 24 hours before he talked to the state’s attorney’s office and said he wasn’t sure whether he fired his weapon from the car or not, likely struggling to remember the details after a “traumatic, stressful event like this.” Reynoso had also not seen any video of the shooting yet.

“When he had a chance to look at the video, he talked to the state’s attorney, we did a proffer, we talked to COPA, and he said, ‘Yeah, I see the video, I just don’t remember it, but I shot once when I was in,’ so this whole thing about contradicting or lying, that’s completely false,” Sexton said.

Reynoso’s wife of 14 years was in court Friday along with several friends and fellow officers, Sexton said.

He was born and raised in Pilsen and graduated from Benito Juarez Community Academy in 1998, Sexton said. He graduated with a degree in criminal justice from the University of Illinois at Chicago, according to Sexton.

Tim Grace, attorney for Liakopoulos, adopted part of Sexton’s argument on behalf of Liakopoulos and added that the defendants were “on-duty police officers who are confronted with armed assailants who points the gun at them and eventually fires at them.”

Grace referenced Graham v. Connor, a U.S. Supreme Court case about seeing police officers’ actions as “objectively reasonable,” he said.

“We don’t use 20/20 hindsight,” Grace said. “We don’t second-guess. We don’t slow down videos like the Cook County state’s attorney’s office does, and that’s what the eventual trial judge will do.”

Liakopoulos, whose parents are immigrants from Greece, grew up in Oak Lawn and graduated from Brother Rice High School, according to Grace. He then got a bachelor of science degree and a master’s degree from St. Xavier University, Grace said.

He has been married for 12 years and has three children, Grace said.

Liakopoulos was promoted to sergeant in 2016, Grace said. He has over 100 departmental commendations and honorable mentions and earned an award of valor.

The 23-year-old man who was shot did not have a weapon and did not fire any shots at the officers, Foxx said. He has since recovered and is cooperating with authorities during the investigation.

“I want to be clear, we support the hardworking men and women of the Chicago Police Department,” Foxx said. “Like many law enforcement partners across the county face dangers every day to keep us safe, we respect their courage and their commitment. With regard to this particular case, we cannot ignore or stand by acts of unprovoked violence, even at the hands of those who are sworn to serve and protect our communities.”

Liakopoulos and Reynoso turned themselves in to members of the Chicago Police Department’s Bureau of Internal Affairs at the 1st District police station Thursday.