The Chicago Police Department has stripped an officer who fatally shot an unarmed man of his powers, the department revealed Tuesday, the Chicago Tribune reports.
The shooting occurred Monday on the city's Northwest Side. Police spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said the action against the officer is the "strongest step a department can take" during an open investigation. However, the officer will still be paid in accordance with department policy.
On Monday, after the shooting, Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said the officer knew the man, identified as 39-year-old Jose Nieves, adding that the two had recently had an argument.
Johnson said that the two men had started arguing at about 9:30 a.m. on Monday and that the off-duty officer, identified only as a 57-year-old with the transit detail, shot Nieves "several times."
"I have a lot more questions than I have answers at this time," Johnson told reporters during the Monday press conference.
"The Chicago Police Department continues our fact-based investigation of the incident, in parallel with the Independent Police Review Authority," Guglielmi added in a statement.
Read more at the Chicago Tribune.