Man identified in fatal officer-involved shooting on Troy Street in Irving Park
by CYRYL JAKUBOWSKI
A man was fatally shot during a police officer pursuit at about 3:10 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8, in the 3700 block of North Troy Street, according to the Chicago Police Department Office of News Affairs.
Officers from 17th (Albany Park) Police District responded to a call of a person with a gun and found a man matching a description running in an alley, police said. As officers pursued the offender allegedly produced a firearm and officers fired their weapons, striking the man, according to police.
The man was identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office as Isidro Valverde, age 21, of the 3900 block of North Christiana Avenue. The cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds, the examiner said, and the death was ruled a homicide as per medical examiner policy.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability said in a statement that officers engaged an individual walking, suspecting that he was involved in an earlier gun-related incident at Christina’s Place bar, 3750 N. Kedzie Ave. Published reports stated that an employee of the bar had an encounter with the man and that he pulled out a gun outside of the establishment.
“Two officers exited their vehicle which led to a foot pursuit of the individual and officers giving verbal commands to get on the ground. The individual ran to into an alley, fell to the ground, and was given verbal commands by the officers to stay on the ground. As the individual began to get up, both officers discharged their firearms multiple times, striking the individual, who was pronounced deceased on scene,” according to the COPA statement.
“COPA can confirm a weapon was recovered at the scene and body-worn camera video captures the initial interaction as well as the subsequent shooting. It is unclear, nor has it been determined by COPA, if the individual discharged his weapon at police,” said COPA First Deputy Chief Administrator Ephraim Eaddy. “Our investigation is ongoing, investigators will continue to canvass the area and are attempting to identify and obtain additional video, as well as identify witnesses from the night of the incident. We are committed to a full and thorough investigation to determine the facts related to this incident and if the actions of the involved officers are in accordance with department training and policy.”
COPA said it would release body-cam footage on its Web site within 60 days of the incident unless prohibited by court order.
