Chicago cop faces investigation after video appears to show him punching, pointing gun at man during arrest

Police oversight officials are investigating a Chicago cop who was apparently caught on video pummeling a man as he allegedly reached for a gun earlier this week in River North.

The video appears to show the officer strike Lorenzo Williams Jr. three times with a closed fist while two other cops grab Williams’ hair and struggle with him on the ground. It appears the officer was holding an object in his hand as he struck Williams.

The officer is then seen pulling out his gun and aiming it at Williams’ face. “I’m gonna f------ shoot you. You’re gonna get f------ shot,” the officer says.

The officer then appears to strike the camera with a walkie talkie before cursing at the person who was recording. “Get the f--- out of my f------ face,” the officer says.

The arrest happened Tuesday evening in the 800 block of North Cambridge Avenue, according to court records.

Jennifer Rottner, a spokesperson for the city’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability, said the oversight agency opened an investigation stemming from a complaint made that day. She declined to comment further.

The Sun-Times isn’t naming the officer because he hasn’t formally been accused of wrongdoing.

Williams, 32, has been charged with unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, resisting or obstructing a peace officer and aggravated assault of a peace officer. Williams, who has a lengthy record of arrests, was ordered detained by Judge Susana Ortiz on Wednesday, court records show.

An arrest report shows Williams was seen on surveillance video in an “area highly known for its gang and narcotic activity” carrying a handgun in his waistband.

When officers approached, Williams tried to run off and was “taken down,” according to the report. During an ensuing struggle, Williams tried to grab for the gun and ignored requests to hand it over, the report says.

A handgun that was reported stolen in Iowa was recovered, the report says. Williams was taken to Ascension Saint Mary hospital with minor injuries.

Activist groups, community members and Williams' family held a rally Thursday evening outside the Near North District, where records show the officer is assigned. They called for the officer who hit Williams be fired and for the other officers involved to also face consequences.

"There's no way that these cops should have done anything like that to him," said Williams' mother, who asked not to be named for safety concerns. "When I saw that video, it's like my whole soul left my body. I'm upset, I'm angry, I have no words, I want them held accountable."

Williams is father to a 5-year-old boy and is awaiting the birth of his second son who is due in October, she said.

At the rally, Williams was put on speakerphone and shared a message with the crowd and media gathered outside the police station.

"What happened to me was wrong, and it shouldn't have happened," Williams said. "I am not a threat to my community, I love my community, I work for my community. I want peace and love for my community and everybody else.

"I'm still shook up right now, I just want to get home to my kids," he continued. "I don't understand this."

Jasmine Smith, co-chair of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, said the officer has previously “brutalized our loved ones without being held accountable.” Williams is Black, and the officer is white.

"We want the officer fired immediately, and our other demand is for every officer who was on top of Lorenzo and stood back and allowed this brutality to be held accountable immediately," Smith said at the rally.

The crowd marched to the spot where Williams was arrested near the corner of Cambridge and Chestnut Street and chanted "the whole system is guilty as hell." They then briefly blocked traffic at Cambridge and Chicago before circling back to the police station. "Silent cops are guilty cops," they yelled.

A police spokesperson said Thursday evening the officer was stripped of their police powers pending the outcome of an internal investigation. The officer has been the subject of at least four complaints and seven use-of-force reports, according to a database of police misconduct maintained by the Invisible Institute.

The officer was involved in the wrongful raid of the home of social worker Anjanette Young, who was handcuffed naked as police searched her apartment. Records show COPA pushed to have the officer suspended for 15 days.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the suspension was served.