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McCarthy Supports Firing Chicago Officer Who Shot Into Crowd, Killing Woman

(CBS) – An off-duty Chicago police officer who shot into a crowd during a 2012 confrontation and killed Rekia Boyd, an unarmed woman, should be fired, Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy says.

The officer, Dante Servin, was acquitted in connection with the case earlier this year. A review board recommended he lose his job, but the decision wasn't final.

Now comes word that McCarthy supports the firing.

"I have come to the conclusion that officer Dante Servin showed incredibly poor judgment in his efforts to intervene in a low-level dispute while off-duty," McCarthy said in a prepared statement Monday. "His actions tragically resulted in the death of an innocent young woman and an unthinkable loss for a Chicago family and community. In the end, CPD has rules that we all must live by. Officer Servin violated those rules and he's going to be held accountable for that."

Formal charges justifying the termination will be sent later this week to the Chicago Police Board for review and further action, a Chicago Police Department spokesperson said.

The fatal shooting occurred when Servin, at the time off-duty, got into an altercation with a crowd at Douglas Park. Reportedly fearing for his life, he fired shots. Twenty-two-year-old Boyd was struck in the head and later died.

Servin faced charges of involuntary manslaughter, reckless discharge of a firearm and reckless conduct. A judge acquitted him in April, but said the officer had acted recklessly.

McCarthy's announcement comes as his department was preparing to comply with a court order to release dashboard camera video of a different fatal encounter between a white police officer and an African-American individual.

Rekia Boyd
Rekia Boyd (Supplied Photo)
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