In the early hours of November 11, 26-year-old Jemel Roberson was working security at a bar in the Chicago suburbs when a shooting broke out. Shortly after Roberson subdued the suspect at gunpoint, police arrived — and
fatally shot the armed security guard as he pinned the suspect to the ground.
Roberson was working at Manny’s Blue Room Bar, in Robbins, Illinois, when security personnel asked a group of men to leave following an argument. Soon after, at least one man returned to the bar and began shooting, injuring some of the people in the bar. Security returned fire and Roberson detained the man.
Roberson “had somebody on the ground with his knee in back, with his gun in his back, like, ‘Don’t move,’” witness Adam Harris
told local news outlet WGN.
When officers from the Robbins and Midlothian police departments arrived, one officer opened fire, killing Roberson. According to witness statements given to local outlets, the officer fired even as witnesses told them to stop. “Everybody was screaming out, ‘Security!’ He was a security guard,” Harris said.
“They still did their job, and saw a black man with a gun, and basically killed him,” he added.