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Quintonio LeGrier called 911 three times on the morning after Christmas to seek help from Chicago police shortly before he was shot and killed by an officer who responded to his father's West Side residence, according to newly released recordings by the I

Before Chicago officers fatally shot unarmed Quintonio LeGrier last month, the 19-year-old dialed 911 pleading for police assistance, according to The Chicago Sun-Times.

But officers were not initially dispatched, the report says, citing the emergency recording released on Monday. Instead of receiving assistance, an officer shot the teen six times after police claim he advanced toward them with a baseball bat. The officer also fatally shot LeGrier’s neighbor, Bettie Jones, who was standing at the door behind him.

The damning report comes as the department faces intense scrutiny over the use of excessive force, especially in communities of color.

Reports The Sun-Times:

The Independent Police Review Authority, which is investigating the shootings, made LeGrier’s three 911 calls public on Monday, as well as one from his father, Antonio.

“During the course of this investigation, the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communication recently identified and provided IPRA with two additional 911 calls placed by Quintonio LeGrier prior to the incident,” according to IPRA.

[…]

Paul Linnee, a national expert on emergency communications, told the Chicago Sun-Times that the dispatchers’ decisions not to send officers in response to the first two 911 calls were “inappropriate.”

The tapes depict pleas for help from the frustrated teen.

From The Chicago Tribune:

“I need to talk to an officer,” the 19-year-old told a dispatcher in the first call. “Someone’s threatening my life.”

[…]

That operator can be heard on the recording hanging up the call after LeGrier identified himself only as “Q” and declined to detail what was happening.

“Can you just send an officer?” a clearly frustrated LeGrier asked the dispatcher at one point.

“Yeah, when you answer the question,” she said.

The report says the 911 operator who took LeGrier’s third call a few minutes later “dispatched a squad car on a well-being check. As officers responded, LeGrier’s father, Antonio, called 911 as well.”

The 911 recordings raise questions about the city’s emergency responses. The city and the department face wrongful-death suits filed by the victims’ families, who accuse officers of misconduct.

SOURCE: The Chicago Sun-TimesThe Chicago Tribune | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty | VIDEO CREDIT: Inform

SEE ALSO:

Quintonio LeGrier’s Dad Hits Chicago With Wrongful-Death Lawsuit

Family Of Bettie Jones, Woman Killed By Chicago Police, Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against City

Emanuel To End Cuban Vacation Early To Deal With Police-Involved Shootings

Unarmed Black Chicago Teen Quintonio LeGrier Called 911 Three Times Before Fatal Police Shooting  was originally published on newsone.com