Elk Grove Village

Elk Grove Village police release partial body camera footage of officer shooting man armed with knife

Jack Murray's parents previously said that they believe he placed the 911 call that resulted in him being shot by a responding officer.

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Officials in suburban Elk Grove Village on Monday released a portion of footage from the incident in which a man who police claimed was armed with a knife was shot to death by an officer.

According to police, Jack Murray, 24, was fatally shot by an officer on the afternoon of Dec. 1 after he walked toward law enforcement and confronted them with a knife. Murray's parents previously said that they believe he placed the 911 call that resulted in him being shot by a responding officer.

A portion of the video release by authorities shows officers, who appeared to be familiar with Murray, staging down the block and discussing preparations for lethal weapons, including a taser, in case they were needed.

At one point, an officer requests that a dispatcher ask everyone beside Murray to exit the home. Officers then ordered the 24-year-old, who was outside the home, to put his hands up.

Murray subsequently walks toward officers as they again demand that he puts his hands up. Murray continues to approach officers, with a knife in his right hand, before one officer deploys a taser, which can be heard on video.

Officers continue to plead with Murray to "drop the knife!" and "put it down!"

Moments later, one officer begins shooting, firing what appears to be six times.

A second vantage point from a different officer's body camera shows Murray approach the officers, but doesn't include the moment shots were fired. After Murray was shot, officers placed him into handcuffs and rendered medical aid before paramedics arrived on scene.

Murray was later taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Elk Grove Village police noted the audio and video footage released Monday includes "the most relevant portion of the voluminous amount of audio and video recordings." Because the footage has been edited, NBC Chicago is not posting the portions released by police. We filed a Freedom of Information Act Request for the complete footage and will bring it to you as soon as it's available. 

Jack Murray's parents, Tom and Diane Murray, hired attorney Antonio Romanucci to conduct a civil investigation into the incident.

Romanucci previously told NBC Chicago that Murray suffered from Type-1diabetes and was aware of the impact the condition could have on his mental and physical health.

"Depending on where his insulin levels were, he could be erratic," he said.

Romanucci called the footage released by police a "self-motivated, pre-packaged video montage," which shows "shows a decidedly partial version of the event with a heavy hand of spin."

The village previously said, per department policy, the five officers who responded to the scene the night of the shooting have been placed on temporary administrative leave as an investigation continues. Not all of the officers were involved in the shooting itself, however, the village said.

The complete statement issued by Romanucci is below:

"The self-motivated, pre-packaged video montage created by Elk Grove Village Police about the death of Jack Murray shows a decidedly partial version of the event with a heavy hand of spin. What was missing from their montage was the most critical seconds of the second body cam, showing the interaction between Jack Murray and an officer, along with that view of the shots that were fired. Further, officers noted on camera they were in possession of a "bean bag" rifle that is a non-lethal use of force that could also have been used... and was not. From the video it appears officers took only several seconds between the use of a taser and the use of deadly force. We strenuously object to Elk Grove Village adding their personal narrative to the body and dash cam. What was released is an edited movie meant to confuse viewers about the legality of what officers are required to do to de-escalate a situation like this with a clearly emotionally distressed person. What we do know is what we already knew, and what we have maintained from the beginning. That day, Jack was physically injured, emotionally distressed, confused and slurring and not OK. He was well-known to the EGVPD as they admit on video. Rather than send medical aid or social services, EGV dispatched the full force of their Police Department and the outcome of Jack's death was inevitable. This situation is beyond sad, and we vigorously maintain that Jack did not need to die that day." 

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