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| Alvin Weems. Photo: Chicago Reader. |
Saturday, March 8, 2003, Alvin Weems shot and killed 27-year-old Michael Pleasance at the 95th/Dan Ryan "L" station at 14 West 95th Street.
Micheal Pleasance was holding 30-year-old Patrick Anderson's coat, while Weems attempted to detain Anderson - whom the officer believed was involved in a fight at the CTA station.
In the video, moments before Pleasance is killed, Weems and Pleasance appear to exchange words. Then, Weems, who was dressed in his street clothes and carrying his off-duty weapon, because he arrived at work late, lifts his gun and shoots Pleasance in the face.
The 27-year-old man immediately falls to the ground.
After the shooting, Weems purportedly completed an incident report, misspelling words like, "taking", and claiming Pleasance had attacked him.
In 2005, Weems was promoted to detective.
The Daley administration has given the green light to a 3 million dollar settlement, that is expected to be officially approved, today. The money will be paid to Michael Pleasance's mother, Pamela Pleasance.
In 2007, a jury awarded Pamela Pleasance 12.5 million dollars. The Illinois Appellate Court overturned the jury's decision, because the courts felt the jury had been prejudiced by the so-called inflammatory words, used to describe officer Weems during the trial.
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING VIDEO CONTAINS EXTREME VIOLENCE:
First, this is pretty tragic and very very disturbing that this young innocent man was shot dead by this "officier". On the other hand, the young man should have stayed out of it. It's never a good idea to approach an officier when they are in a frenzy trying to stop an incident. This also shows how sometimes innocent people, be they black, white, yellow or brown, can become an innocent bystander and get caught up in a bad situation. Stay away from the police when they are in the mist of an arrest or are trying to diffuse a bad situation. This video shows what happens when you don't do that.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think it's a dirty shame that this "officier" is still on the force. What type of "officier" walks through a crowded CTA station with his gun drawn BEFORE he even knows what the hell is going on? This guy is trigger happy and a piss poor example.
Towanda, I agree. Pleasance made a big mistake by getting too close to the action. The officer had his gun drawn. That would have instantly prompted me to get the hell out of there, or at the very least, comply with the cop's demands.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what got Weems promoted - the fact that he killed an unarmed man, or the fact that he allegedly tried to cover it up?