Officer fatally shoots suspect with gun on South Side
BY BECKY SCHLIKERMAN Staff Reporter bschlikerman@suntimes.com November 10, 2012 3:08PM
Panzy Edwards, the mother of Dakota Bright, is consoled by Destiny Brown, 10, a cousin of Dakota Bright, near the scene of the shooting of 15-year-old Dakota Bright in Chicago, Ill., on Saturday, November 10, 2012. | Andrew A. Nelles~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: December 12, 2012 6:46AM
A 15-year-old who allegedly pointed a gun at officers was shot in the head by police last week in the South Side’s Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood, authorities said.
Officers near the 6700 block of South Indiana said they saw Dakota Bright with a handgun about 3:30 p.m. Thursday, police said.
The officers approached, but Dakota fled on foot and the officers chased him, according a statement from the Chicago Police. During the pursuit, the officers shot Dakota. A weapon was recovered at the scene, police said.
Bright, of the 7600 block of South Emerald, was declared dead on the scene at 4:11 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Officials at the morgue said Saturday that the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head, and they could not provide further details.
Meanwhile Saturday, a large group marched around the neighborhood to protest the shooting, which they say was unjustified. “No more cops killing our kids,” about 50 protesters shouted as they walked past the scene of the shooting and made their way to Marquette and King Drive.
Dakota’s family questions why police shot the teen, who they say was on his way to his grandmother’s house in the 6700 block of South Prairie.
“He wasn’t the monster they’re making him out to be,” said his mother, Panzy Edwards. She said she doesn’t believe the police account of what happened. “No matter what he did or how he did it, they shouldn’t have killed him.”
The Robeson High School freshman loved to play basketball and video games. His favorite song was “Neva End,” by the rapper Future.
“He was an average teenager,” said his aunt, Tianne Bright. “He wasn’t no violent person.”
Told that Dakota’s family had concerns that he wasn’t pointing a gun at officers, a Chicago Police source said the shooting was “not an execution.”
The Independent Police Review Authority, which investigates all police-involved shootings, was investigating.
