On June 4, 1999, Chicago Police Officer Van Watts IV murdered Northwestern University senior and football player Bobby Russ, an unarmed Black man, three weeks before Russ was scheduled to graduate. That night, Russ was driving home to Calumet City from Evanston to see his mother when Officer Philip Banaszkiewicz pursued him for allegedly driving erratically on the Dan Ryan. Watts joined the pursuit and eventually tried to block Russ' path, causing Russ to spin out to the side of the highway. Watts then approached the vehicle and used a tire iron to smash in the passenger's side window before drawing his gun on Russ. The police report claimed that Russ attempted to wrestle the gun out of Watts' hands when Watts shot and killed him. Watts and Banaszkiewicz then proceeded to handcuff Russ even after Watts shot him, and Russ was dead on the side of the highway before an ambulance arrived. 

According to https://cpdp.co/officer/30217/van-watts/ Watts still remains employed by CPD to this day, and he only was suspended for 15 days for procedural violations he committed during the encounter with Russ. Join us in demanding Mayor Lori Lightfoot and CPD Superintendent David Brown to immediately remove Watts from the police force and open a new, independent investigation into the murder of Bobby Russ. 

You can read more about Bobby's life and death here: https://www.insidenu.com/2019/8/22/20688252/bobby-russ-northwestern-football-officer-involved-shooting-chicago-police-1999