Chicago cop accused of firing 2 guns during off-duty shooting is stripped of his police powers

A Chicago cop was stripped of his police powers after oversight officials said he fired two guns during an off-duty shooting in Little Village that left a man wounded earlier this month.

Officer Edgar Delgado-Arroyo was relieved of his powers on Tuesday, according to a police spokesperson. He’s now assigned to the Alternate Response Section, a unit comprised of cops with disciplinary issues and others not medically cleared for full duty.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability has said an off-duty officer was driving in the 2600 block of West 26th Street early Oct. 4 when he encountered a group of people, got into an argument and opened fire.

He then drove toward the 2300 block of South Rockwell Street and “fired additional shots from two firearms simultaneously” in the direction of the initial encounter, COPA said.

A male was struck twice and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in fair condition, police said.

A law enforcement source said Delgado-Arroyo drove to the area after his mother reported that earlier gunfire had struck her home. His father had been killed in a nearby shooting in July 2021, the source said.

The officer was on the phone with 911 when he was punched and subsequently opened fire, according to the source, who described the gunshot victim as a 24-year-old man associated with the Satan’s Disciples street gang.

Police are investigating whether there was an exchange of gunfire after Delgado-Arroyo initially opened fire, the source said.

Delgado-Arroyo didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Community leaders have raised questions about the shooting and demanded that charges be filed against the officer.

Baltazar Enriquez, president of the Little Village Community Council, said he wants cops who may live in the neighborhood to understand “they’re not above the law.”

“We don’t need cowboys,” Enriquez told the Sun-Times last week. “We need officers.”