Martice Milliner, a 27-year-old African American man, was fatally shot by a Chicago police officer on July 9, 2015, in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. The incident occurred around 11:30 p.m. when police responded to a call about a person with a gun. The caller described the individual as a man wearing a black leather Blackhawks hat. Officers arrived at the scene and found a group of people, including Milliner, who matched the description.
When officers attempted to stop him, Milliner began to walk away quickly. An officer grabbed him by the collar, and Milliner reached into his waistband and started to pull out a gun. The officer then shot him. After falling to the ground, Milliner grabbed the gun again and pointed it at the officer, who then shot him again.
Milliner was taken to Jackson Park Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. A semi-automatic handgun was recovered at the scene. The Independent Police Review Authority, which investigates all officer-involved shootings, handled the case. Despite the police department and the Fraternal Order of Police's accounts that the officer fired only two shots, nearby residents reported hearing between three and five shots. Friends of Milliner's sister claimed he arrived at the hospital with five gunshot wounds.
The relationship between area residents and the police was described as adversarial. Beverly Joseph, a long-time resident of the neighborhood, expressed concerns about the police's behavior, stating that they antagonized residents and made them afraid. She also mentioned that if the account of the shooting given by authorities was true, she understood the fatal outcome.
In a separate development, the City of Chicago agreed to pay $250,000 to Milliner's family to settle a lawsuit related to his death. The family alleged that Milliner was shot "without cause or provocation" while attending a birthday celebration.
