Sharon Fairley Discusses Anthony Alvarez Shooting with Chicago Tonight
City Releases Video of Police Shooting, But Questions Remain
Watch the full video at the Chicago Tonight website.
There are still many unknowns about the fatal police shooting of Anthony Alvarez on March 31, including why he was stopped by law enforcement in the first place.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability, or COPA, has recommended the officer who shot Alvarez be relieved of his police powers while the shooting is under investigation.
But Chicago police Superintendent David Brown has yet to act on that recommendation and refused to comment much about the case Wednesday until the investigation is complete.
Sharon Fairley is a professor at the University of Chicago law school and former chief administrator of the Independent Police Review Authority, or IPRA, the agency responsible for police misconduct investigations before COPA.
She says the many questions about Alvarez’s shooting will likely go unanswered until COPA’s investigation runs its course.
“We know that officers can’t just shoot someone just because they have a gun. That’s not allowed, there has to be some sort of threat. But we also know that they don’t have to wait until they’re looking down a barrel of a gun to defend themselves,” Fairley said. “So the question is, what goes on in the middle, between those two things? And how do you resolve those questions? And it’s not easy.”
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