The family of a man fatally shot by a Chicago police officer in Pilsen last year filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against the city on Friday claiming he was unarmed and running away from officers when he was killed.

       In addition to the city, the lawsuit filed by the family of Miguel Vega in U.S. District Court names as defendants Officer Matthew Krzeptowski, who allegedly fired the fatal shot and his partner that night, Officer Zachary Kuta.

       A spokesperson for the city’s Law Department said Friday the city had not yet been served with a complaint and “will have no further comment as the matter is now in litigation.”

       Vega, 26, was killed Aug. 31, 2020, after the officers’ unmarked squad car was fired upon in the 1300 block of West 19th Street, according to court records and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which investigates police-involved shootings.

       In the hours after the shooting, the Police Department issued an official statement claiming Vega was armed with a gun that was recovered at the scene. But an internal report issued by Near West’s commander on Sept. 1, and obtained by the Tribune, was more vague, saying Vega was with at least three other people and someone from that group fired shots.

       The 11-page lawsuit alleged Vega was unarmed and simply running away from the sound of gunfire when an officer started shooting.

       “As people were running away, (Krzeptowski) repeatedly fired his service weapon toward civilians, on a residential block, without a clear target and without knowing who was in his line of fire,” the suit alleged.

       Kuta did not fire his weapon, but failed to stop his partner from firing even though he “had an opportunity to intervene,” according to the suit.

       Vega, a father of two young boys, was at least 100 feet from the officers’ car when he was struck in the head, according to the lawsuit. He died later at an area hospital.

       In the bodycam video released by COPA last year, officers can be seen hurriedly exiting their squad car — which appears to have had its window shot out — while one of them fires a pistol over the open door of the vehicle up the sidewalk.

       The officer who shot Vega fired 11 times, according to a police report that’s part of the case.

       Audio of the shooting officer’s camera does not come on until he has moved up the block to arrest a man he finds near a curb.

       “My whole window is shot up! Good thing I (expletive) ducked!” the officer said to other cops on scene.

       Another man, apparently Vega, can be seen lying on the sidewalk after being struck by a bullet.

       “We’ve got an ambulance coming to you, brother, OK?” the officer said to Vega, who has blood on his face. “Keep talking to me, man. Keep talking to me, brother. You’re going to be all right.”

       The officer can be heard directing others to look for a weapon that might have been discarded as police approached the area. Officers eventually can be heard to say they located a gun, a few parked cars from where Vega could be seen lying in the sidewalk.

       “Don’t touch it! Don’t touch it! Don’t touch it! Do not touch it!” one officer exclaimed. “We got it. We got it.”

       The shooting remains under investigation by COPA.

       In the wake of the video’s release, Vega’s family said they believe he was unarmed and called for more accountability and transparency.

       Meanwhile, records obtained by the Chicago Tribune show that two police officers had questioned Vega just hours before the shooting after someone called 911 and reported gang members “standing outside stopping cars and flashing gang signs.”

       That incident occurred in the 1300 block of West Cullerton Street, a block south of where Vega was later killed, according to an investigative stop report, which police use to document street stops.

       The report stated Vega “self-admitted” to being a member of the La Raza street gang during the interview. He was patted down and released after no weapons were found, according to the report, which has not been previously disclosed.

       Chicago Tribune’s Jeremy Gorner contributed.

       jmeisner@chicagotribune.com

       Lawsuit: Man killed by Chicago police in Pilsen last year was shot while running away, unarmed

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