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Politics & Government

Church and Dodge Shooting Revisited at Ward Meeting

Police officers meet with Ward 5 residents to discuss the ongoing investigation and talk neighborhood safety.

Police Chief Richard Eddington and several police officers responded to questions and concerns from 5th Ward residents on Thursday night regarding neighborhood safety, policing policy and the recent that took place in the neighborhood near the intersection of Church and Dodge. The incident, which took place less than a month ago, was still resonating deeply with many in attendance. The officers in attendance, including Lead Detective for the shooting Tosha Wilson, aimed to build solidarity with the community members and clarify the details of the incident.

 “There's all kinds of rumors that go on and we do try to dispel them as much as we possibly can,” said Alderman Dolores Holmes. “There are many of us in the community who are very concerned about all of this.”

During the meeting, residents were shown footage of the incident which showed the events leading up to the suspect, 17-year-old Stephen Adams of Des Plaines, being shot and injured in the upper-left shoulder by an Evanston police officer. The tape, which according to the officers was retrieved from a storefront camera, showed the suspect standing near the corner of Church and Dodge. As a white vehicle approached the corner, orange-red flashes could be seen emanating from the suspect, which the officers confirmed to be muzzle flares from gunfire aimed at the direction of the vehicle. The vehicle could be seen turning away, apparently in flight of the gunfire.

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The tape then showed a squad car—which had been tailing the vehicle for not having its headlights on—rapidly pull over to where the suspect had been standing. Two officers emerged from the car and pursued the fleeing suspect in a northbound direction along Dodge. The footage did not show an officer shoot the suspect, which happened after the officers chased the suspect further north.

“He [the suspect] falls down, he faces the officer and comes up with something in his hand, and the officer discharges his firearm,” said Chief Eddington of what occurred next. 

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Eddington reiterated on multiple occasions that Adams was not shot in the back while fleeing, as many in the community and in attendance suspected.

“It’s not as the rumors had it that he was gunned down while running away. That’s not the facts of this case,” said Eddington.

Eddington confirmed that the officer in question had, however, been involved in a previous shooting, a fact which has been a great source of controversy within the community.

“This police officer who was involved in the shooting was involved in another shooting that most of us consider unwarranted,” said Bennett Johnson, who grew up in the 5th Ward . “Yes, we want our streets safe. Yes we support the police but because of our history, and this black community’s history with police misconduct … that is part of our paranoia and concern and continued concern.”

While discussion and debate over the incident waged for some time, Eddington expressed early on the he was there with his officers in large part to “put names with faces” and to respond to a desire among many 5th Ward residents to better know the officers in their neighborhood.

The investigation of the Church and Dodge incident is currently underway, along with a "public integrity" investigation on the police conduct which is being headed by Illinois State Police and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. According to Eddington, such investigations are standard protocol anytime police officers are involved in a shooting.

"To be perfectly blunt, it takes a really long time to get a written report from the Cook County State's Attorney’s office in this unit," said Eddington. "I probably won’t have that report for a year."

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