CPD bodycams reveal standoff with Bipolar Man

Civilian Office of Police Accountability have released videos on Friday which shows tense standoff between Chicago police officers and a bipolar man before they fatally shot him. The videos are of earlier this year inside a Woodlawn home. The police oversight agency has released six videos and seven audio clips.

The encounter had taken place on May 22 which led to the death of Myles Frazier in the 1300 block of East 61^st Street. Chicago Police Lt. Ozzie Valdez said that a man called police about 10:15 a.m. to report that his son has bipolar disorder, was armed and distraught. Valdez had told these details in a news conference after the shooting. The man had asked the police for help.

Myles Frazier was 22-years old. According to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office, officers arrived at the location and tried to negotiate with him. Frazier was barricaded inside a second-floor bedroom. The tense standoff continued for about 30 minutes as the bipolar Frazier fired shots at them.

Valdez said that Frazier had shot at least five rounds. Some of the shots he fired went inside the house as well. A SWAT team had come into action in about 45 minutes of the standoff. Valdez said that two officers shot him during an “armed confrontation.” Police reports have indicated that Officer Daniel Colbenson and Officer Orlando Sanchez Jr. fired the shots at Frazier.

Neither of the officers were wearing bodycams. According to video from a camera on an officer stationed outside the home, gunshots can be heard about the 39-minute mark. Frazier died at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Police had recovered a weapon from the scene of the crime. As per CPD policy, officers who opened fire were put on desk duty for 30 days.