Dexter Reed shot 13 times by Chicago police officers, autopsy finds

CHICAGO — Dexter Reed was shot 13 times by Chicago police officers during a fatal March traffic stop that left one of the officers shot in the wrist, authorities found.

The Cook County medical examiner’s office released Reed’s autopsy and toxicological reports Thursday, five weeks after he was fatally shot in the Humboldt Park neighborhood. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability said four officers fired a total of 96 shots during the 41 seconds of gunfire.

The medical examiner’s office found Reed, 26, was shot in his chest, shoulder, back, legs and buttocks. A toxicological examination found THC in Reed’s system at the time of his death.

“The results of today’s autopsy demonstrate that these officers used excessive and unreasonable force,” Reed family attorney Andrew M. Stroth said Thursday. “Dexter didn’t have a chance.”

The records’ public release came a day after Reed’s family announced a civil rights lawsuit against the city and the five officers who were involved in the traffic stop and shooting. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability said Reed shot an officer in the wrist before the other four opened fire.

Police body-worn camera footage, released by COPA earlier this month, showed one officer firing three more rounds at Reed as he was motionless in the street. A CPD source said 11 spent shell casings were found inside Reed’s SUV.

In the month since the shooting, Reed’s death has spurred activists’ calls for the CPD to cease its use of plainclothes tactical officers and to reexamine its policies on traffic stops. The shooting has also laid bare a rift between leaders of CPD and COPA.

Five CPD tactical officers assigned to the Harrison District (11th) curbed Reed’s SUV in the 3800 block of West Ferdinand Street, allegedly after he was seen not wearing a seat belt.

The footage shows the officers exit an unmarked police vehicle, draw their weapons and repeatedly order Reed to roll down his SUV’s tinted windows. Reed initially complied and rolled down his window, but appeared to disregard the officers’ commands to roll down the window on the passenger side.

Moments later, Reed appeared to shoot the officer standing on the SUV’s passenger side. The other four officers then opened fire, shooting dozens of rounds at Reed, who exited the vehicle before falling to the pavement. One officer fired three more shots at Reed as he was lying motionless in the street.

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