A Chicago man who was shot seven times while fleeing police two years ago has filed a federal lawsuit seeking $15 million in damages, his attorneys confirm, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Dominiq Greer, 25, of the Englewood section of Chicago, claims that he was shot by an officer during a July 4, 2014, chase, even though he was not an immediate threat. Greer admits to carrying a handgun when he was stopped by police but says that he ran from the officers because he was afraid of them.
Greer says that he tried to toss the weapon when he was shot three times. He claims that he was then shot another four times when he was down on the ground.
"The police, they're really the gang," the 25-year-old told reporters at a news conference. "They run the street right now. They do what they want to do."
Greer's attorney, Eugene Hollander, criticized the city for not including the video of Greer's shooting in the materials the city released just days before related to several investigations into allegations of police brutality.
"The mayor said he wants to be transparent," Hollander, who played a video of Greer's shooting at the news conference, said. "Why don't we put all of the [videos] online?"
In the black-and-white video with no audio, Greer can be seen running down an alley and trying to throw a weapon away before he falls to the ground. It was then, Hollander said, that he was shot three times. As Greer tries to get up, four officers can be seen coming toward him with weapons drawn. Greer then falls on the ground in a dark area, where he is shot four more times, he claims.
It is not clear from the video when the shots were fired. Greer was hit in his right arm, left arm, right leg, left toe, back and chest. Greer said that he was conscious for the whole ordeal.
"I asked why is they shooting me this many times," he said. "I thought I was about to die.
"If you had to shoot me to catch me … that's bad," he added.
Read more at the Chicago Tribune.