‘He’s got a knife’; Waukegan releases video from fatal police officer-involved shooting – Chicago Tribune

2022-09-10 11:01:16 By : Mr. Yang Lao

Waukegan released body-camera footage Thursday of an August confrontation during which a city police officer fatally shot a man armed with a knife who had a gasoline can taped to his chest.

The one-minute 49-second video ended with the fatal encounter between the officer, whose name has not been released, and Jesus Manjarrez, 26, of the 1000 block of Glen Court.

The News-Sun and Tribune Publications filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the footage in the days after the Aug. 24 shooting. The video can be reviewed at newssunonline.com

The video shows the officer firing his weapon five times as Manjarrez walked toward him with a knife. The gas can is visible in the video.

The officer had responded to the area after a man called 911 and said his next-door neighbor was trying to burn down the man’s house, authorities said.

“The guy next door is going crazy,” the caller said.

The caller said his neighbor had broken the caller’s windows, was pouring gas into his house and trying to start a chain saw. Another 911 caller reported that Manjarrez had set a fence ablaze between the properties.

In the body-camera footage, the officer arrives, sees smoke and returns to his squad car to retrieve a fire extinguisher. As the officer walks toward the home, his camera records Manjarrez walking down a driveway toward the officer.

A woman saying, “He’s got a knife,” can be heard a moment before the officer yells, “Drop the knife.”

About four seconds later, the officer fires five times and Manjarrez falls to the driveway.

The incident remains under investigation by the Illinois State Police.