This week, a judge ordered the release of an African-American cop charged with murder in an off-duty shooting that turned fatal earlier this month in Chicago, reports USA Today.
From USA Today:
Prosecutors said Thursday that a Chicago cop charged with first-degree murder for an off-duty shooting had allegedly brandished a gun and threatened the victim during an incident weeks before the deadly altercation.
The new details emerged as Cook County Judge Donald Panarese, Jr. ordered officer Lowell Houser, 57, to be released on his own recognizance while being placed on electronic monitoring. Houser, a 28-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department, was taken into custody a day earlier for the off-duty fatal shooting of an unarmed 38-year-old man [Jose Nieves] shot earlier this month during an argument outside a Northwest Side apartment.
…The murder charge against Houser was announced just days after the U.S. Department of Justice released the findings of a 13-month long investigation of Chicago’s police force, in which they found that the city’s cops are poorly trained, often use excessive force, and rarely face discipline for misconduct. The investigation of the department was launched following widespread anger in the city’s African-American community over the investigation of the police shooting death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.
If the Cook County Sheriff’s Office does not provide electronic monitoring for Houser, the officer will be responsible for $150,000 bail, reports DNAinfo Chicago.
SOURCE: USA Today, DNAinfo Chicago
SEE ALSO:
Chicago Cops Poorly Trained & Misconduct Probes Biased, DOJ Says
Report: Chicago Police Must Face Racist Past, Overhaul Department
Judge Orders Release Of Chicago Cop Facing Murder Charge In Off-Duty Fatal Shooting was originally published on newsone.com
