Officer Dead of Apparent Suicide
Getty Images / Scott Olson
A Chicago police officer who shot an killed an unarmed man at a CTA station several years ago is dead from an apparent suicide.
Alvin Weems was found dead Thursday with a gunshot wound in his west side home. The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office said it appears to be self-inflected.
In 2003, Weems shot 23-year-old Michael Pleasance while responding to a fight at the 95th Street Red Line station.
After the incident, Weems initially claimed he was trying to wrestle a weapon away from Pleasance, but security video released later proved he was unarmed. The 51-year-old officer later admitted that the shooting was unjustified but unintentional.
A jury awarded the family of Michael Pleasance a $12.5 million settlement. That ruling was overturned and the family eventually received $3 million in compensation.
Pleasance's brother, Maurice Pleasance, reacted to the apparent suicide of Weems, telling the Chicago Sun-Times that the family "doesn’t take any comfort in knowing that an individual committed suicide."
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