Newly released footage shows Chicago cops, videographer ducking for cover when shots ring out during August looting
On a night when looters were tearing through downtown and Chicago police were scrambling to clear the streets, nearly a dozen gunshots rang out in the Loop and for a few frantic moments everyone ran for cover.
Or nearly everyone. Newly released video shows a man with a camera dropping the leg of his monopod and recording the scene after the first round of shots were fired about 4:30 a.m. Aug. 10.
After a half dozen more shots, he took shelter behind a standing sidewalk sign, maintaining a view of the scene. Neither he nor anyone else was hit by the gunfire.
The videos were released Wednesday by the independent watchdog that investigates police shootings. The 11 videos from police and surveillance cameras offer another view of the bedlam that unfolded when widespread looting erupted downtown and moved to adjacent neighborhoods.
The vandalism is believed to have cost millions of dollars in damage, stolen merchandise and police overtime.
None of the videos captured visible images of the shooters or make it clear where the shots were coming from, though it shows the reactions of police officers and civilians as the shooting unfolded.
Police said they were fired on as they responded to calls of looting.
Two videos posted showed a man standing near officers around 55 E. Lake St. when the sound of nearly a dozen gunshots echoed through downtown. The unidentified man continues to record throughout the shooting, taking shelter behind the sign.
A soundless video from a different angle outside a 7-Eleven shows two officers ducking behind their squad car, while a man takes cover behind one of the store’s support columns.
The videos also captured looters fleeing the convenience store as officers arrived. So far, there have been 76 felony arrests, 26 vehicles seized and 48 undercover purchases of stolen merchandise from that night, according to authorities.
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