The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office has declined to file charges against Chicago police officers who fired dozens of shots at Dexter Reed in a shooting that roiled the city and drew scrutiny to police policies around traffic stops.
In a memo released Wednesday, the office found that the “evidence is insufficient to support criminal charges against these officers.”
Dexter Reed, 26, was shot 13 times during a traffic stop shortly after 6 p.m. on March 21 by Chicago Police Officers Thomas Spanos, Alexandra Giampapa, Victor Pacheco and Aubrey Webb, according to the memo.
Reed, a former basketball player at Westinghouse College Prep high school, also shot Officer Gregory Saint Louis in the wrist.
The shooting drew condemnation for what some deemed an extreme amount of force. One officer fired at least 50 times during the 41 seconds of gunfire, including three shots at Reed as he was lying motionless in the street, according to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.
In all, the officers fired a total of 96 shots, according to the memo.
The memo, though, said that the investigation found that Reed “fired the first shots toward the passenger side of his vehicle striking Officer Saint Louis.” Reed himself fired 11 shots, it said.
“An examination of the totality of these circumstances reveals that it was reasonable for the officers to believe they were in imminent danger of great bodily harm or death after Reed shot Officer Saint Louis and continued shooting at the officers who returned fire,” the memo said. “After Reed fired additional shots at the officers, the officers were reasonable in their belief that Reed continued to be a deadly threat.”
According to reports and video released to the public, the five CPD tactical officers assigned to the Harrison District (11th) curbed Reed’s SUV in the 3800 block of West Ferdinand, allegedly after he was seen not wearing a seat belt.
Footage shows the officers exit an unmarked police vehicle, draw their weapons and repeatedly order Reed to roll down his SUV’s tinted windows. Reed initially complied and rolled down his window, but appeared to disregard the officers’ commands to roll down the window on the passenger side.
Moments later, Reed appeared to shoot an officer standing on the SUV’s passenger side. The other four officers then opened fire, shooting dozens of rounds at Reed, who exited the vehicle before falling to the pavement.
Warning: Graphic content. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability released video footage Tuesday that shows a group of Chicago police officers firing dozens of bullets at Dexter Reed, 26, during a traffic stop in the West Garfield Park neighborhood on March 21, 2024. (Chicago Police Department)
The memo was released following investigations by the state’s attorney’s office, COPA and the Chicago Police Department’s Investigative Response Team, which included witness interviews and reviews of camera footage, police reports and other documents.
The memo notes that Reed was “no longer armed after he exited the vehicle” but said it was not unreasonable for the officers to believe he still was.
The memo said that Reed “did not raise his hands or appear to surrender” as he exited the vehicle, and instead was in a crouching position with his hands not visible.
The video footage reviewed by investigators showed that the interaction between Reed and the officers took place within around 71 seconds. Within 30 seconds of the officers approaching the vehicle, the memo said, Reed fired the first shots, hitting Saint Louis.
During the next 11 seconds, the officers and Reed exchanged fire, the memo said.
There was an eight-second pause before another exchange of gunfire, the memo said.
Then, after another 16 seconds, Reed got out of his vehicle, walked toward the back and fell to the ground.
“Officer Pacheco ceased firing within 1 second of Reed falling, Officer Giampapa ceased firing within 3 seconds, and Officer Spanos ceased firing within 6 seconds,” the memo said.
Forensic testing showed that Reed’s hands were positive for gunshot residue, the memo said, and the bullet taken from Saint Louis’ arm was matched to Reed’s weapon.
Eleven fired cartridge cases matching Reed’s gun were found in his vehicle, the memo said.
Per statute and policy, the state’s attorney’s office referred the matter to the Office of the Illinois State’s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor for an independent review. The agency found that the decision to not file charges is “consistent with the evidence.”
Reed’s family filed a civil rights lawsuit and reached a tentative $1.25 million settlement agreement with the city that was voted down by the City Council earlier this year.
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