2 Cops Charged After Teen Points Gun At Police, Claims Excessive Force During Arrest

Chicago, IL – Two Chicago police officers are facing felony charges and two more officers are facing department discipline for allegedly beating of a teen who crashed into a police vehicle and pointed a gun at officers.

The police report said the incident occurred just before noon on Jan. 10 when officers were patrolling in the area of Marquette Road and Cottage Grove in Woodlawn, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Officers heard about a stolen car and then spotted the suspect vehicle at 65th and Drexel Avenue.

The report said the officers met the stolen 2012 Chevrolet “front end to front end” with their patrol vehicle, the Chicago Tribune reported.

But the Chevrolet went around the Chicago police vehicle and fled down the sidewalk toward Kenwood.

Police followed the fleeing suspect down the street and when the suspect vehicle made a left turn from the sidewalk back onto the roadway, it struck the police vehicle, according to the police report.

Then the teen driving the vehicle pointed a gun at officers, WGN reported.

Cook County Juvenile Court records showed the 17-year-old was arrested and charged with stealing the Chevrolet, aggravated battery for using the stolen vehicle to hit to police officers, aggravated assault, resisting a peace officer, fleeing or attempting to elude an officer, and illegally possessing a handgun, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Court documents showed the teen was also arrested on June 7, 2020 for carrying an illegal gun.

The teen complained he had been beaten during his arrest and the officers involved in the incident were investigated by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) for excessive force.

Video from nearby city-operated surveillance cameras appeared to show some or all of the altercation, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The video footage has not been released to the public because the suspect is a juvenile.

Two officers were initially relieved of their police powers and placed on desk duty during the investigation, but on Sept. 1, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office brought charges against them both, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office Spokeswoman Tandra Simonton said Chicago Police Officers Jeffery Shafer and Victor Guebara were each charged with aggravated battery and official misconduct, which are both felonies.

Officers Shafer and Guebara were expected to appear for a bond hearing on Wednesday.

COPA records showed that one of the officers was accused of hitting the teen in the head or face and pushing his head into a metal fence, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The other officer was accused of punching the teen in his face or head “without justification,” COPA records showed.

Two other Chicago police officers are facing discipline for their involvement in the incident, the Chicago Tribune reported.

COPA records showed one officer stands accused of failing to report “unjustified use of force” and the other is only facing discipline for failing to activate his bodycam.

The civilian review office said none of the four officers involved in the incident had activated their bodycams, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The two officers facing felony charges are also accused of having conducted an improper vehicle pursuit of the teen, according to COPA’s investigation.