Chicago teenager Quintonio LeGrier and his father called the 911 emergency hotline on December 26th three times and were ignored. Quintonio was killed by the police that very same day.

Audio of the 911 calls were released by the Independent Police Review Authority Monday. The first was made at 4:18 a.m. “There’s an emergency, can you send an officer?”, Quintonio says in the audio requesting police assistance at his home. When he didn’t follow emergency dispatch protocol and answer questions in the order required, an operator even hung up on him.

Antonio LeGrier, Quintonio’s father, called at 4:24 am and also asked for help saying, “My son has freaked out. I need an officer…He’s got a baseball bat in his hand right now.”

In a statement released by police, a representative gives the officers’ side of the story when they reached the LeGrier’s address. “Upon arrival, officers were confronted by a combative subject resulting in the discharging of the officer’s weapon, fatally wounding two individuals.”

The first person killed was the very person who called for assistance – 19-year-old Quintonio LeGrier. The second was 55-year-old neighbor, Bettie Jones, shot after she opened the door to let the police in.

Police called Jones’ death an accident. Autopsies results by the Cook County medical show Jones was shot once and LeGrier was shot six times. Jones was a grandmother and mother of five children. LeGrier was a Northern Illinois University electrical engineering student, and a graduate of Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep.

Chicago’s Independent Police Review Authority is still investigating the deaths. Quintonio’s family says he battled with mental health issues. His father is filing a $50,000 wrongful death suit against the city.

Quintonio

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