We’ve heard both versions of the story too often, tragic trajectories that begin with being a young Black man in Chicago and end in murder, either by police or by somebody else. In March 2016, as the city was reeling from the Laquan McDonald scandal and entering what would be its bloodiest year in two decades, 22-year-old Courtney Copeland wound up with a bullet in his back in front of the 25th District police station in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood, on the northwest side. He was shot as he was driving his BMW late at night to see his girlfriend. He spent his last moments trying to get help from the cops at the station, who handcuffed him and treated him like a suspect, leading to precious minutes lost in getting him potentially lifesaving medical care. It took his mother four years and a collaboration with journalists to figure out what happened that night—a story that police were in a position to put together within days of the murder.
The podcast producers ultimately filed about 100 FOIAs, obtaining video, documents, and police records that CPD had told Wells didn’t exist. They interviewed dozens of witnesses, including people who’d never heard from the cops even after reporting relevant information. They identified the location of the shooting and three suspects. The podcast includes recordings of Wells’s conversations with detectives that reveal officers who are dismissive and defensive, seemingly more concerned with their authority being challenged than solving the murder. What’s more, the attitude of the police doesn’t change even when another person is murdered in a BMW in the same area more than two years later, likely by the same people.
Somebody is available on all podcast platforms. The final episode drops on Tuesday, May 12. The Invisible Institute will host a virtual listening party for the final episode at 3:00 PM on Tuesday, May 12, followed by a discussion with Shapearl Wells. Sign up for free at: bit.ly/somebodylistening. v
