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2 Investigators: Police Reopen Investigation Into Shooting At Cop's Home

(CBS) -- Chicago police are reinvestigating a shooting at an off-duty police officer's house in which his gun was used.

After six years of speech and physical therapy, Michael LaPorta is ready to speak to police. That is pretty remarkable, he says, "Considering I got shot in the head."

In 2010, LaPorta and his friend, Chicago Police Officer Patrick Kelly, were hanging out at some local bars. They ended up at Kelly's house, where LaPorta sustained the gunshot wound.

Kelly called 9-1-1 and said, "I just had a friend that committed suicide."

A police report says Kelly, who had been off-duty, told detectives he had his gun secured in his bedroom, but he couldn't remember where.

Kelly said LaPorta took it and shot himself.

When help arrived, police said, Kelly was "highly intoxicated, belligerent and very irate."

He was arrested for swinging his arms at female police sergeant that night and was disciplined and served a three-month suspension.

"It's absolutely appalling that Patrick Kelly was allowed back on the street after what happened to Mike LaPorta," says LaPorta family attorney Tony Rommanucci.

"I think the bigger picture here is the city of Chicago Police Department, its code of silence that it engages in in order to cover up the misconduct and wrongdoings of its police officers, whether they are on duty or off duty," he says.

Kelly has declined to talk previously and couldn't be reached for comment for this report.

There are questions about his internal police record. The file is 3,000 pages, mostly confidential, and includes complaints for excessive force and racial slurs.

LaPorta's mother, Patti, says her son did not shoot himself. She and Michael LaPorta's brother, Chris, say Michael is ready to talk about that night.

"He tells me about it on a weekly basis," Chris LaPorta says.

The 2 Investigators have learned police are re-examining the case.

Michael LaPorta is waiting for the city to take his deposition. His attorney says there were no fingerprints found on the gun.

"The Chicago Police Department is reexamining the evidence and speaking to witnesses in Mr. LaPorta's case," the department said in a statement to CBS 2. "The Department has a zero-tolerance policy for any proven misconduct by its members."

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