Carol Stream police body cam footage captures gunfire, panic following man’s fatal shooting
Carol Stream police officers responding to a domestic violence call entered a dark apartment and shot the man within moments before they scrambled to administer first aid to the dying man, according to body-worn camera footage of the Feb. 3 shooting released Friday.
The footage captures officers entering Isaac Goodlow’s quiet apartment single-file and firing two shots. It shows a chaotic scene immediately after officers fired in which officers yell for Goodlow to show his hands, handcuff him, administer first aid and try to keep him awake while waiting for medics.
The Police Department released portions of the body-worn camera footage about three weeks after Goodlow’s family watched the video and called on the village to make the video public and two days after two of Goodlow’s relatives filed a lawsuit against the village and six police officers regarding the shooting.
All five sets of released video footage began with officers entering the apartment, opening closets and announcing “Carol Stream police” before officers fired.
After the gunshots, officers shouted “Show me your hands, put your hands up” and approached Goodlow, lying on his stomach on the floor by an unmade bed. One officer shouted an expletive.
Officers handcuffed Goodlow, called for medical help and argued about moving him before they began to administer first aid over about a minute.
“Isaac, hey, man, I need you to stay with me, man,” one police officer said. “Open your eyes, man.”
Goodlow appeared to be bleeding while officers took turns doing chest compressions.
A village news release originally described the scene in which officers found Goodlow as “tense, uncertain and rapidly evolving.”
Carol Stream police Chief Don Cummings said in a short preamble to the video that officers came to the apartment building to respond to a domestic violence call and met with the caller before they tried to reach Goodlow and got a building worker to let them into the apartment.
Aside from the two shots, an officer also activated a taser during the shooting, he said.
“The Carol Stream Police Department is devoted to respecting human life and will continue to listen to the concerns of our community during this trying time,” he said.
A lawsuit against the village and police officers filed on behalf of Goodlow’s family argues that Goodlow was alone and unarmed in his apartment at the time of the shooting. It accuses the village as a whole and six unnamed police officers of illegal seizure, excessive force, willful and wanton conduct, battery, failure to intervene and denial of medical help to Goodlow.
The federal lawsuit also accuses the village of failing to train its officers adequately and of allowing a pattern of unlawful home invasions to persist before Goodlow’s death.
Carol Stream Village Manager William Holmes said the village would review the lawsuit and offered condolences to Goodlow’s family.
Additionally, the village remains eager for the completion of the investigation by the Public Integrity Team and the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office so all parties can gain a fuller understanding of what, exactly, took place.
In a statement released with the body-worn camera footage, village officials said its Police Department was “committed to the full independent investigation of this incident,” adding that the village would release the investigation results as soon as possible.