A Chicago police officer was relieved of his police powers on Tuesday after fatally shooting an unarmed man on Chicago's Northwest Side while off-duty on Monday morning, according to police.
The shooting happened around 9:30 a.m. Monday in the 2500 block of North Lowell in the city's Hermosa neighborhood, police said.
"As part of the ongoing investigation of the fatal shooting on the 2500 block of North Lowell, this afternoon Superintendent Eddie Johnson has relieved the officer involved in the incident of his police powers," CPD spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement.
"The Chicago Police Department continues our fact based investigation of the incident, in parallel with the Independent Police Review Authority," Guglielmi added.
The officer had "a verbal altercation with a subject that was known to him," Supt. Eddie Johnson said during a news conference Monday.
"The verbal altercation resulted in the officer discharging his weapon," Johnson added, "striking the subject several times, and the subject is now deceased."
The officer had been visiting an acquaintance in the area at the time of the shooting, according to police, who said that the man was not armed.
"The person who was shot did not have a weapon, that much we know," Guglielmi said Monday. "The officer's weapon is the only weapon involved."
The victim, who was later identified as 38-year-old Jose Nieves, was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.
He died of multiple gunshot wounds, authorities said, and his death was ruled a homicide.
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Angelica Nieves said her brother was moving furniture from storage and putting it into his apartment when the shooting occurred. His family last saw him on Christmas, she said.
"I never thought I would see him in that way," she said.
Johnson said the officer and the man knew each other from a confrontation a few weeks ago.
"There was already animosity towards my brother," said Nieves' sister Angelica Nieves. "My brother has called 911 prior because [the officer has] come out with a gun up to my brother."
"I have a lot more questions than I do answers at this time," Johnson said Monday, "so I came out because I wanted to make sure the investigation was done properly. The chief of detectives is here to manage our part of the investigation. We have a parallel investigation going on right now with IPRA."
An investigation remains ongoing with both the Chicago Police Department and the Independent Police Review Authority. [[409340735, C]]
