New video and audio released in police shooting of man who called 911 on himself

The incident is still under investigation

Jack Murray, 24, seen on Elk Grove Village officer body-cam footage from December 1. (Elk Grove Village Police)

Authorities in Illinois have released audio and video footage involving a fatal officer shooting that stemmed from a 24-year-old man calling police on himself earlier this month.

On 1 December, Jack Murray called 911 from his home in Elk Grove Village, about 25 miles northwest of Chicago, alerting officials to a man in the neighbourhood “acting erratic with a knife and he seems dangerous”.

He added: “He’s going to hurt someone”. Mr Murray responded inaudibly when asked if he was the erratic man. The call dropped and the dispatcher called the line back, which was picked up by Mr Murray’s father.

The unidentified man told the dispatcher he had “no idea” what was happening. “You need help? It’s OK, Jack, if you do”, the father can be heard saying in the audio. “You’re not fine, Jack, something’s going on. You called them for a reason”.

In a news release from earlier this month, the man’s family said he had a history of calling police in the past when experiencing mental health crises. They said they believe that’s what happened the night of the shooting.

The dispatcher then asked everyone but the 24-year-old to leave the home before sending officers.

“This house has a history of…problems”, the dispatcher said, according to the audio.

When police arrived, the man approached them with a nearly 11-inch knife, officials said in a news release. Officers then commanded the man to put the knife down and put his hands up. When he did not, they deployed a taser that struck Mr Murray.

Officials said he continued advancing toward the officers with the knife in hand. That’s when one officer decided to discharge his firearm, fatally wounding the man.

Emergency responders began performing first aid and emergency life-saving measures until paramedics took over. He was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment, where he was ultimately pronounced deceased.

Five of the responding officers have been placed on administrative leave as the investigation continues.

“This incident is undoubtedly very difficult for the family and our community,” Mayor Craig Johnson said in a video statement. Referring to the officers’ decision to deploy a taser, he said, “Unfortunately these efforts were not effective in neutralising the threat to the officers’ safety.”

Attorneys for Mr Murray’s family criticised the footage released by officials.

“What was missing from their montage was the most critical seconds of the second body cam, showing the interaction between Jack Muray and an officer, along with that view of the shots that were fired,” a written statement from the Romanucci & Blandin law firm read.

“This situation is beyond sad, and we vigorously maintain that Jack did not need to die that day.”