For Sheila Banks, the late afternoon of March 21 began easy, with her son Dexter Reed heading out to enjoy his new SUV. “Momma, I’m going out for a ride,” she recalled Tuesday.
It ended with Reed, 26, being gunned down on a residential corner by Chicago police officers who fired nearly 100 rounds in less than a minute, according to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA), the city's police watchdog agency.
Officers said they pulled Reed over for not wearing a seatbelt - a contention that COPA questions amid rising tension in recent weeks over the killing and officers' use of deadly force.
In releasing footage of the shooting Tuesday, the police accountability board said Reed “appears” to have fired first. But attorneys for the family said a deeper investigation needs to happen. They also say the traffic stop was unconstitutional and not the first time that Chicago cops have falsely claimed seatbelt violations as the impetus for confrontational pullovers of drivers.