The Naperville Police Department released a video of both in-car and body camera footage of the deadly officer-involved shooting that happened on June 3.
The video begins with Naperville Police Chief Jason Arres stating the objective is to provide more detail on the officer-involved shooting. He states viewer discretion is advised.
What Does the Video Show?
The video shows a Naperville police officer conducting a traffic stop on northbound Bond Street just north of the intersection of McDowell Road. Approximately 12 minutes into the stop, a silver car traveling in the opposite direction pulls up next to the vehicle the officer had pulled over. The officer can be heard saying, “Who are you?” The driver quickly exits the car and charges at the officer with a hatchet in his hand. The video shows the officer pulls his gun and fires several shots, and the man with the hatchet falls to the ground.
The officer radios the base, saying, “Base, I’ve just been attacked, I just, shots fired, shots fired!” He then yells out “Don’t move, don’t move,” and reiterates to the base that shots have been fired, asking them to send a medic. The officer holds the suspect at gunpoint until back up arrives.
Both in-car cameras as well as the footage used from the new body cameras are used to show the different angles of the incident. Last month, the police department began issuing body-warn cameras to its officers with full implementation expected by the end of June.
Dangers Of Job
Chief Arres states that any loss of life is tragic and offers condolences to the family of the deceased victim Edward C. Samaan, 28. He continues to say he’s grateful that neither the officer nor bystanders were injured or killed. He also explains how this incident demonstrates how quickly a scene can change and how dangerous the job of a police officer is.
The DuPage County MERIT Public Integrity Team and the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office are conducting an independent investigation into the incident. The NPD has made the full video from both the body cam and in-car cameras available on its website.
