An Amtrak police officer who shot and killed a Minneapolis man in downtown Chicago has been charged with first-degree murder.
LaRoyce Tankson, 31, was charged with one count of first-degree murder in the death of Chad Robertson, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. Tankson turned himself in late Thursday and is scheduled for a bond hearing Friday afternoon.
Robertson, 25, died Wednesday morning at the Chicago hospital where he had been treated for a gunshot wound to the left shoulder from the Feb. 8 incident.
While authorities have remained silent on the incident, Robertson’s relatives contend that he was unarmed and shot as he ran from police.
Robertson was on an hourlong stopover at Union Station, Chicago’s main transit hub, during a Megabus trip to Minneapolis from Memphis, where he and a friend had attended a funeral, relatives said.
Family members pieced together Robertson’s final moments after speaking with two of his travel companions, at least one of whom was later called to testify before a grand jury weighing criminal charges against the officers, said Douglas Hopson, an attorney representing the family.
He said the family is considering a wrongful-death lawsuit. In addition, a federal lawsuit has been filed on Robertson’s behalf against the officer and transit agency.
Robertson and two friends had ducked into Union Station to escape the chilly night while waiting for their bus home when they were confronted by two Amtrak officers, relatives said. The officers asked them to leave the area, which was reserved for train passengers. The trio started walking back toward the bus, but returned a few minutes later after realizing that they’d forgotten a bag, relatives said.
What happened next is in dispute, but Robertson’s relatives say the officers again confronted him and his friends, following them to a nearby restaurant where the shooting occurred.
Relatives said Robertson had panicked when one of his friends was being frisked and started running away from the officers, when one of them opened fire.
Chicago police, who are leading the investigation, said last week that they did not recover any weapons on Robertson, although they did find unspecified drugs and cash at the scene.
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