CHICAGO — The father of a 16-year-old boy who was injured in a shooting involving Chicago police on Thursday is speaking out and disputing the officer’s version of the events.
As the wounded patrol officer recovers from the shooting, weapons charges are pending against the teenager who underwent surgery at Stroger Hospital following the incident.
On Friday, the teen’s family said they were deeply distressed about Thursday’s incident, which unfolded in the 5600 block of South Shields Avenue, in Englewood.
“He was complying and I guess they went up to him and they attempted to take it out of his waistband,” the teen’s father Scott Gracey said
Gracey and his wife stood outside Stroger Hospital on Friday as they waited for more details on the condition of his son, 16-year-old Marcus Gracey.
“He had to go through surgery for the groin problem last night for about three hours, they didn’t tell me anything.”
Gracey and his wife said they have been in the dark about his son’s condition.
“Literally they told us ‘You guys can’t see him. You guys have to leave,'” Gracey’s stepmother, Tania Hernandez, said.
The couple said they are eager to talk to Marcus after Thursday’s police investigatory stop.
CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling told reporters that patrol officers noticed a gun in Gracey’s waistband, adding that it went off as officers reached to disarm him.
“I wouldn’t categorize this as wrestling. What our officers did, they were attempting to disarm someone who was armed with a handgun,” Snelling said.
But the teen’s father said he believed that his son was not treated fairly.
“I know my son apparently had a gun. Lock them up for the gun. But don’t shoot him. Like, come on man, it’s not right,” Gracey said.
Cell phone video obtained by WGN-TV captured the immediate aftermath of the incident.
The teen’s father was not at the scene, but after talking to others and watching the video, he said that he believed emergency responders were slow to react.
“They took the police officer away within the two minutes and left my son on the floor for 20 minutes. All of this is on camera. I have it on video,” Gracey.
Gracey said he had no idea his teen even had a gun.
“That’s something we’re going to have to ask him when I get to talk to him. Because I didn’t even know he had a gun,” Gracey said. “I’ve been through all of that stuff before, and I’ve grown up out of there, I am a single father, I own my own house. I don’t do that no more and he shouldn’t be walking around with a gun either,” Gracey said.
Chicago police were unable to respond to allegations, given that the case is now under the jurisdiction of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA).
WGN-TV also reached out to the Fraternal Order of Police, but officials were unavailable for comment on Friday.
Weapons charges are currently pending against 16-year-old Marcus Gracey.