Chicago police have released bodycam footage, which appears to show a man who was fatally shot by officers reaching for his gun beforehand.<\/p>\n
Harith Augustus was shot multiple times as he tried to run away on Chicago’s South Side on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Within hours,\u00a0protesters had taken to the streets\u00a0<\/a>amid rumours he was unarmed, clashing with police.<\/p>\n The decision to release the video so soon was taken to avoid further violence, police said.<\/p>\n According to CBS, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson told reporters: “The community needs some answers and they need them now. We can’t have another night like last night.”<\/p>\n The video<\/a>, which has no sound, shows officers approaching Augustus on the street. At one point, as the 37-year-old backs away, his t-shirt flies up, revealing a gun in a holster.<\/p>\n He then tries to run away, at which point he appears to be reaching for his waistband. It is unclear if he was actually reaching for the gun.<\/p>\n However, the next moment Augustus – who had no recent criminal record – falls to the ground.<\/p>\n “I mean, it is what it is,” Supt Johnson said. “You know, we are not trying to hide anything. We are not trying to fluff anything. The video speaks for itself. I don’t need to narrate that video for you. When you see it, you come to your own conclusions about what happened.”<\/p>\n Augustus’ death was the third police shooting in just two weeks, and is the latest in a string of police killings of black men, some unarmed, which have caused outrage and led to protests in cities across the US.<\/p>\n Saturday night’s clashes with police saw protesters shouting “murderers”, throwing objects and jumping on police cars.<\/p>\n Officers armed with batons traded punches with the protesters, local media reports said.<\/p>\n Three officers sustained minor injuries and there were four arrests.<\/p>\n Saturday’s demonstration was dispersed at about 22:30 local time (03:30 GMT). On Sunday, protesters returned to march through the streets.<\/p>\n Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"