Editorial: We need cool heads — and no more knee-jerk responses — regarding the police shooting of Dexter Reed

In a city where public safety is by far the most worrying issue, the last thing Chicago needed was another police shooting ending in death for anyone — officers or civilians. But in the death of 26-year-old Dexter Reed in Humboldt Park last month, that’s what we have, and so we must confront the facts wherever they lead, as dispassionately and productively as possible.

The first and most obvious lesson: If you’re stopped by police and asked to roll down your window or get out of your car, do so. And if you shoot at police, they will — and should — shoot back. Lost by too many in the anger over Reed’s death was the fact that he shot a police officer who, as Mayor Brandon Johnson properly noted on Tuesday following release of the multiple videos offering views of what happened, was lucky to escape with the injuries he did. We easily could have been mourning two deaths here.

Even the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, with whom police Superintendent Larry Snelling has grappled over what he believes to be overly critical positions on police conduct, concluded that Reed shot first at cops who were yelling at him to unlock his car and get out. Again, Mayor Johnson: “Shooting a police officer can never be condoned. … I will never stand for that, and neither will the city of Chicago.”

That was a critically important note for the mayor to strike in remarks that also bemoaned the loss of yet another young Black man’s life and expressed determination to ascertain all the facts and hold people accountable where appropriate.

Unlike Johnson and Snelling, both of whom said just enough to reflect the gravity of the situation without inflaming matters with speculation and opinion before all the facts are unearthed and reported, COPA Chief Administrator Andrea Kersten felt free to share her opinions far and wide, including during a conveniently timed appearance at the City Club. Among the most questionable of those was her view (injudiciously expressed in advance of a completed investigation) that the cops’ response to Reed’s multiple shots at them wasn’t “proportional.” Police shot 96 times while Reed fired considerably fewer shots, although there have been conflicting reports of how many.

So, are we now going to criticize — or, as some want, prosecute — police who fail to count how many bullets are flying their way before shooting back and ensuring the number of shots is “proportional?” Even after a fellow officer has been shot? We are asking officers to risk their lives every day on the streets of a city awash in guns, many of them illegal. (Reed was facing past charges for illegal gun use.) Requiring cops to respond “proportionately” when someone is shooting at them not only is unreasonable; it will make recruiting new officers even harder.

A Chicago police officer’s job only has gotten more dangerous. Cops were shot or shot at 68 times in 2023 versus 55 times in 2022, WGN-TV reported. The number of people shot by police dropped over that same time frame to 11 from 18.

Making this awful incident far worse than it already is were the inflammatory postings of former mayoral candidate Ja’Mal Green over the weekend before the Tuesday release of the videos. Green posted on X, formerly Twitter, that he’d been “briefed” on the content of the videos and that they showed an “execution” and that “charges may be forthcoming.” (He later deleted the post.) Among the many questions to be answered is how Green got “briefed” on anything regarding this subject before public release or public discussion by someone in a position to be privy to the videos.

Needless to say, Green’s sensational language and wild speculation days before the public had access to the videos social media served only to inflame and not inform. Whatever credibility Green might have had before last weekend is severely compromised.

That brings us to the matter of why this incident took place in the first place. There are numerous questions about why plainclothes police officers stopped Reed’s vehicle. Apparently, the reason given was failure to wear a seatbelt. COPA head Kersten publicly wondered whether the cops were lying, saying the tinted windows in Reed’s SUV would have made it difficult if not impossible to see whether he was belted.

Leaving aside the inappropriateness of Kersten offering such an opinion at this stage, given her role running an agency recommending whether and how cops should be reprimanded, any reasonable person will wonder why this stop was necessary. Had it not taken place, after all, one Chicagoan would still be alive and a police officer would not have been wounded.

The issue of traffic-stop consequences has been effectively raised by Impact for Equity, a 55-year-old nonprofit (formerly BPI, or Businessmen in the Public Interest), focused on racial and economic justice. Coincidentally, the group released a report just last week showing traffic stops by Chicago police increased 5% in 2023 following a 35% increase in 2022. Black drivers were stopped in more than half of those instances even though they make up 29% of Chicago’s population. Nearly three-quarters of the stops weren’t for moving violations but were due to license plate issues and burned out taillights or license plate lights, the group reported. About a fifth of the stops occurred in two West Side police districts that are home to less than 10% of city residents.

Critics accuse the police of using minor infractions as excuses to search vehicles for illegal guns and other contraband.

Snelling reportedly expressed concern about the high number of traffic stops when interviewing for the top cop job and has said there are considerably fewer stops so far this year. Still, the tragic loss of life on March 21 raises serious questions about the department’s current policing strategy. Snelling needs to inform the public forthrightly about whether traffic stops for matters as minor as seat belt violations continue to be an integral part of how cops seek to keep us safe and, if not, how the policy is changing.

People on all sides of the public safety question agree there’s a desperate need for more trust between police and the public when it comes to solving violent crime. This is acutely so in Black neighborhoods. When law-abiding Black drivers are stopped repeatedly for what they believe are prejudicial or otherwise hidden reasons — and virtually any Black man can offer stories of his own experience along those lines — that lack of trust is exacerbated all the more.

The mayor’s words were accurate. This entire incident was deeply disturbing.