Chicago police sergeant caught on CCTV video shooting unarmed autistic black teen, watchdog reveals

Police initially described incident as an armed confrontation

An off-duty police officer has shot an unarmed, autistic teenager in Chicago.

CCTV footage of the incident released by a civilian-led oversight agency shows Sergeant Khalil Muhammad shoot Ricardo Hayes, then aged 18, as he walks on the city’s South Side.

At the time of the incident, which took place in the early hours of 13 August last year, police officials described it as an armed confrontation.

According to a lawsuit over the shooting filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Mr Hayes had wandered away from his home around 5am, prompting his carer to call the police and inform them he was autistic.

The home security video released by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability shows Mr Hayes running along a sidewalk before stopping.

Mr Muhammad, who is driving an SUV along the road, stops and gets out.

After Mr Hayes takes a few steps towards the vehicle, Mr Muhammad shoots him in the arm and chest. The video shows Mr Hayes running off despite his wounds. Now aged 19, he has recovered from his injuries.

“As a black teenager with disabilities, Ricky was at a heightened risk for police violence,” said Karen Sheley of the ACLU of Illinois said in a statement. “Thankfully, he survived – but he should never have been shot.

“The video shows both that there was no justification for the officer to shoot him and that initial stories told by CPD officials about the shooting – that the ‘encounter escalated’ – were false."

The sergeant’s call to 911 was also released.

“The guy, like, he was about to pull a gun. Walked up to the car, and I had to shoot,” Mr Muhammad told a Chicago Fire Department dispatcher. Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson later said Mr Hayes had no weapon.

It follows other incidents where police have falsely claimed a confrontation prompted them to use lethal force.

Earlier this month, Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke was convicted of second-degree murder and aggravated battery over the 2014 shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.

Despite video to the contrary, Mr Van Dyke and other officers at the scene claimed Mr McDonald was acting aggressively before the shooting.

Mr Muhammad is on administrative leave pending the outcome of the COPA investigation, Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said on Tuesday.