‘I’m Gonna… Shoot You!’: Video of Chicago Cop Sticking Gun to Black Man’s Face While His Head Is Pinned to Ground By Other Officers Sparks Outrage, Calls for Officer’s Firing
A viral video showing a group of Chicago police officers aggressively arresting a Black man reveals a white officer punching the man three times in the face while holding a black object in his hand.
The cop then pulls out a gun and holds it against the man’s face for several seconds, telling him, “I’m gonna f–king shoot you!” before re-holstering the gun.
The cop then approaches the witness recording the video and shoves him with his walkie-talkie while telling him to “get the f–k out of my face!” – even though it was the cop who had walked up to his face.
That cop has been identified as Michael Donnelly, a veteran cop with a history of complaints and disciplinary action against him, including twice participating in raids on innocent families.
The man he was punching is Lorenzo Williams, 32, who was charged with unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, resisting or obstructing a peace officer, and aggravated assault of a peace officer.
The incident took place on July 30 after Chicago police said they spotted Williams on a surveillance video standing in an “area highly known for its gang and narcotic activity” while carrying a handgun in his waistband, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
But they said he ran off when they approached him, so they chased after him and tackled him, whereupon he tried to grab his gun and refused to hand it over. Police say the gun was reported stolen out of Iowa.
Protests and Investigations
Williams filed a lawsuit against the city and police department the following day, claiming that he was assaulted by police while he was “peacefully walking on public property,” according to CBS News.
The incident has sparked protests and investigations from the police department and the Civilian Officer of Police Accountability (COPA), a city agency made up of civilians that is meant to provide independent oversight to the police department but only has the authority to make recommendations for disciplinary action against officers.
“There’s no way that these cops should have done anything like that to him,” Williams’ mother told the Sun-Times.
“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.”
Jasmine Smith, co-chair of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, told local media that the officer has previously “brutalized our loved ones without being held accountable.”
“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.”
Previous Allegations
The Citizens Police Data Project states that Donnelly has had four allegations of abuse in the past — which is more than 72 percent of all officers on the force — but none have been sustained.
The data project also states that Donnelly has been investigated for use of force incidents seven times — which is more than 98 percent of all officers on the force.
In 2019, Donnelly was one of several officers involved in raiding the home of an innocent woman named Anjanette Young, forcing her to remain standing in front of several officers while completely naked as she told them they had raided the wrong house. Young ended up receiving $2.9 million in a settlement but told the media she wished the cops would have been fired.
In 2017, Donnelly was one of several officers involved in raiding the home of an innocent family, breaking down the door of Gilbert and Hester Mendez and terrorizing the family by threatening to kill them and pointing guns at their children, ages 9 and 5.
Hester told local media that the cops refused to show her the warrant, but after about an hour of police ransacking the home, she caught a glimpse and noticed it listed a different apartment in the same building. But the police did not care.
“Even after I told them that they were in the wrong place and the people live upstairs, they still continued to search,” she said.