Monday, the family of Isaac Goodlow, a Black man who was fatally shot by police as they ambushed his apartment, demanded in a heated city board meeting that the officers involved in Goodlow’s death be held criminally accountable for the incident.
On February 3, Carol Stream, Ill. police responded to a report of a domestic incident. Carol Stream Police Chief Donald Cummings said a woman told police she got into an altercation with Goodlow, causing her to flee from the home barefoot. After being evaluated from the paramedics, she returned home but the door was locked.
The responding officers then tried to make contact with Goodlow from the outside until finally securing a key from an on-site supervisor, the police said. Goodlow never gave consent for the police to enter his home, however, Cummings said the girlfriend did.
Heartbreaking Body Camera Footage
In the body camera video, the group of officers can be seen filing in one behind the other. While clearing the rooms, one officer went through a bedroom door and just after a breath, a shot was fired. After a brief pause, two more shots are heard and then a Taser is deployed, and officers scattered.
“No! No! Stop! Stop! Stop! Shots fired!” officers are heard saying in the audio.
When the officers entered the room, Goodlow was curled up on the ground as they proceeded to handcuff him. “Put your hands behind you and keep your eyes open,” one officer said. Goodlow was silent as blood pooled onto the floor. “F-ck!” one officer yelled on the body camera.
The officers, seemingly panicking, then moved to place Goodlow on his back as he went unresponsive. Officers then asked one other if they are hurt or injured. In the background, a woman is heard wailing and crying in distress. The officers administering CPR to Goodlow are heard saying, “Hey! Isaac! Stay with me, man! Wake up! Wake up!” About two to three officers switched turns giving Goodlow CPR.
All that is heard in response from Goodlow is a gargling sound, as if he struggling to breathe or choking on blood. He died on the scene.
At the Carol Stream Village Board meeting, Goodlow’s family members called out the officers for their actions and the department for withholding unedited body camera footage they were able to review privately, per ABC 7 Chicago.
“You need to be honest. Your boys messed up. You’re embarrassed. You’re ashamed. Deal with it,” said Kennetha Barnes, Goodlow’s sister, in the meeting.
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Earlier this week, Goodlow’s family filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against the department.
The lawsuit claims that officers were aware Goodlow’s girlfriend was not in his apartment at the time they arrived in response to a domestic dispute and that police were at the building for more than 50 minutes without contacting Goodlow before raiding his apartment without justification.
Goodlow’s family has said he was sleeping in his bed when police shot him. His family watched a redacted version of body camera video of the shooting earlier this month.
The lawsuit also claims Goodlow was unarmed when he “was shot dead in cold blood … while he lay sleeping inside the sanctity of his own bedroom.”
In a statement, the Carol Stream Police Department said officers are working with the Public Integrity Team and the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office to investigate the incident. The officers involved were placed on paid leave upon the pending investigation.
After the internal probe, the prosecutor’s office will review the forensic evidence, witness testimonies and statements from the officers to decide whether criminal charges will be handed down.
“No young man should be subjected to what I seen on that video,” said Henry Pigram, Goodlow’s uncle. “If the protocol is what I seen on that tape, on that body cam, every Black man should be in fear of their life.”