WEBVTT - A Mother's Fight for the Truth 0:00:14.916 --> 0:00:34.156 Pushkin. I remember that night like it was yesterday. I 0:00:34.156 --> 0:00:38.156 could still hear the thunderous beat in my head, and 0:00:38.196 --> 0:00:41.716 I remember being so startled out of my sleep because 0:00:41.796 --> 0:00:45.476 I've never experienced such a bamming at my door, so 0:00:46.276 --> 0:00:50.716 it shocked me, and I knew that something bad had happened. 0:00:51.676 --> 0:00:55.996 That's Chaparral Wells describing the moment when Chicago police officers 0:00:56.356 --> 0:00:58.236 showed up on her doorstep in the middle of the 0:00:58.356 --> 0:01:01.996 night her oldest child, her twenty two year old son, 0:01:02.156 --> 0:01:07.476 Courtney Copeland, had been fatally shot. Chaparl needed answers about 0:01:07.516 --> 0:01:10.796 what had happened in Courtney's final moments, but it soon 0:01:10.836 --> 0:01:13.756 became clear she wasn't going to get them unless she 0:01:13.836 --> 0:01:18.076 took matters into her own hands. It wasn't by choice 0:01:18.836 --> 0:01:23.076 that I took this journey in investigating my son's murder. 0:01:24.036 --> 0:01:29.316 I had no other option. Chaparral did not know at 0:01:29.316 --> 0:01:32.236 the time that she spent the next five years trying 0:01:32.236 --> 0:01:36.716 to figure out what exactly had happened to Courtney. On 0:01:36.756 --> 0:01:40.476 today's episode, a mother channels her grief into justice for 0:01:40.556 --> 0:01:44.716 her son. I'm Maya Shunker, and this is a slight 0:01:44.796 --> 0:01:47.636 change of plans. A show about who we are and 0:01:47.676 --> 0:01:51.196 who we become in the face of a big change. 0:01:57.636 --> 0:02:00.676 Chaparral was grieving the loss of her son, Courtney, but 0:02:00.756 --> 0:02:03.556 her grieving process was complicated by the fact there were 0:02:03.676 --> 0:02:07.996 so many unanswered questions surrounding his death. I wanted to 0:02:08.036 --> 0:02:11.476 hear about her cycle logical journey through all this, how 0:02:11.476 --> 0:02:16.356 she balanced her dual identities as mom an investigator, and importantly, 0:02:16.796 --> 0:02:19.476 I wanted to know how all of her advocacy may 0:02:19.516 --> 0:02:23.596 have changed her relationship with Courtney's death. I started off 0:02:23.636 --> 0:02:27.236 our conversation by asking Chaparral about the kind of person 0:02:27.396 --> 0:02:32.316 Courtney was. He was such a loving person. I shall 0:02:32.396 --> 0:02:35.916 always come home, like from dropping off the kids at school, 0:02:36.036 --> 0:02:38.516 and he'll be here, and he'll come up and he'll 0:02:38.556 --> 0:02:41.356 be all in my bed. And I remember even in 0:02:41.436 --> 0:02:44.436 his teen and when he was even grown, he'd be like, 0:02:44.756 --> 0:02:47.156 can you just rub on my ears? You know? He 0:02:47.276 --> 0:02:53.156 was just like so affectionate. And I would say, one 0:02:53.156 --> 0:02:56.316 of the best memories I have for Courtney is him 0:02:56.316 --> 0:03:00.876 being the glue. He was someone who if there was 0:03:00.916 --> 0:03:03.276 a conflict or he would be the first person to 0:03:03.356 --> 0:03:06.796 try to resolve it. Hey, you guys, you know we're family. 0:03:07.396 --> 0:03:12.236 Let's pull it together. It doesn't matter what happened. Let's 0:03:12.276 --> 0:03:16.956 just resolve this and move on. I remember Courtney shortly 0:03:16.996 --> 0:03:20.636 after my grandmother passed away, and Courtney and my grandmother 0:03:20.676 --> 0:03:25.356 were very close, and he said, Mom, grandma wanted me 0:03:25.396 --> 0:03:29.476 to keep the family together. And Courtney may have been 0:03:30.236 --> 0:03:34.836 nineteen twenty at the time that she passed. And I 0:03:35.076 --> 0:03:38.916 was like, you know, that's a huge responsibility, Courtney, I said, 0:03:39.076 --> 0:03:43.756 but she saw something within you that felt that you 0:03:43.796 --> 0:03:46.956 could do it. Because Courtney was the type of person, 0:03:47.156 --> 0:03:50.436 he got along with everyone, and so he would basically 0:03:50.556 --> 0:03:54.156 try to host family dinners lesson like this person, because 0:03:54.196 --> 0:03:57.556 these are the things that my grandmother did, especially around 0:03:57.596 --> 0:04:02.956 holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. She made sure everyone got together. 0:04:03.956 --> 0:04:06.796 In addition to being a family oriented guy, Courtney was 0:04:06.836 --> 0:04:10.316 also making great strides in his professional life. He was 0:04:10.356 --> 0:04:12.676 a sales rap and he earned a special bonus that 0:04:12.756 --> 0:04:15.876 allowed him to get at Burgundy BMW and so I 0:04:15.956 --> 0:04:19.836 remember him pulling up in our driveway, probably around twelve 0:04:19.996 --> 0:04:22.876 or one in the morning. He was like, Mom, I 0:04:22.996 --> 0:04:25.676 did it. I did it. I got the car. I 0:04:25.756 --> 0:04:27.836 got the car. And I remember him give me the 0:04:27.876 --> 0:04:30.356 biggest hug and he was like, you gotta come down 0:04:30.396 --> 0:04:33.636 there and see it. And the music was blasting and 0:04:33.716 --> 0:04:36.276 he was just like so excited. His friends were out. 0:04:36.316 --> 0:04:39.076 I mean it's like literally twelve thirty one o'clock in 0:04:39.116 --> 0:04:41.676 the morning and he had called out his friends over 0:04:42.356 --> 0:04:44.956 you can't see anything, and everybody was just it was 0:04:44.996 --> 0:04:48.076 like a mini party right in the driveway. And this 0:04:48.116 --> 0:04:51.996 car wasn't just any car to Courtney. They had a relationship. 0:04:52.316 --> 0:04:55.756 He would talk to the car every morning like it 0:04:55.876 --> 0:05:00.396 was his girlfriend, Good morning, baby, how are you today? 0:05:00.556 --> 0:05:02.956 I mean, it was just that was his life. The 0:05:03.076 --> 0:05:06.116 car was his life for sure. Wow. So yeah, I 0:05:06.116 --> 0:05:09.436 guess it symbolized something so meaningful to him about what 0:05:09.516 --> 0:05:11.596 he had accomplished in life and where he was heading. 0:05:11.796 --> 0:05:16.356 And it did. His goals were always to make sure 0:05:16.436 --> 0:05:18.636 that we didn't have to work or his sisters didn't 0:05:18.636 --> 0:05:22.996 have to do anything. So once he received that BMW bonus, 0:05:23.076 --> 0:05:26.916 he actually pushed harder and he was working harder, talking 0:05:26.956 --> 0:05:30.316 to more people and trying to get as much as 0:05:30.356 --> 0:05:35.076 he could in the way of excelling his business as possible. 0:05:36.996 --> 0:05:40.516 So one night, you hear a knock on the door 0:05:40.596 --> 0:05:43.996 at two in the morning, and it's the police. Can 0:05:44.036 --> 0:05:47.236 you take me back to that moment. Yes, I remember 0:05:47.396 --> 0:05:51.236 that night like it was yesterday. I could still hear 0:05:52.076 --> 0:05:55.796 the thunderous beat in my head. You know, this is 0:05:55.796 --> 0:05:59.276 something that you never forget, these sounds, these moments where 0:05:59.276 --> 0:06:02.436 you were. And I remember being so startled out of 0:06:02.476 --> 0:06:06.716 my sleep because I've never experienced such a bamming at 0:06:06.756 --> 0:06:11.356 my door. So that bamming it shocked me and I 0:06:11.476 --> 0:06:16.356 knew that something bad had happened. And so when I 0:06:16.396 --> 0:06:20.036 got to the door, the officer was like, do you 0:06:20.076 --> 0:06:23.516 know a Courtney Copeland And I said yes, I'm his mother, 0:06:24.156 --> 0:06:27.356 and then he said, well, we come to notify you 0:06:27.796 --> 0:06:31.596 that you need to call Illinois massign A Hospital. And 0:06:31.996 --> 0:06:34.116 at that moment, the first thing that goes through my 0:06:34.156 --> 0:06:36.116 mind is, oh, my god, my son has been in 0:06:36.156 --> 0:06:40.796 a terrible accident. Something that's happened. And so I'm like, 0:06:40.996 --> 0:06:45.556 for a police officer to come to your home, it 0:06:45.596 --> 0:06:50.116 has to be extremely serious. So I remember my husband 0:06:50.516 --> 0:06:53.076 he had jumped out of bed as well. And by 0:06:53.116 --> 0:06:56.076 this time I'm focusing on Okay, I have to go 0:06:56.156 --> 0:06:58.636 change my clothes and get ready because they're telling us 0:06:58.636 --> 0:07:00.996 that we have to go to this hospital and so 0:07:01.236 --> 0:07:03.916 my husband is talking to them and I was like, well, 0:07:03.996 --> 0:07:07.116 Brent called the hospital, let's see what's happening. And I'm 0:07:07.116 --> 0:07:10.516 putting all my clothes and they said, we can't tell 0:07:10.596 --> 0:07:14.316 you over the phone. You need to come in. Once 0:07:14.436 --> 0:07:18.916 that happened, once he uttered those words, I remember being 0:07:18.956 --> 0:07:23.636 in my bedroom and just falling to the floor because 0:07:24.276 --> 0:07:29.356 I just felt in my gut that them telling you 0:07:29.436 --> 0:07:32.036 that they can't tell you on the phone, this must 0:07:32.076 --> 0:07:36.196 be bad. And then once I arrived to the hospital, 0:07:38.116 --> 0:07:39.836 I told him who I was. I said, I'm here 0:07:39.836 --> 0:07:43.596 to see Courtney Copeland. And then they said, well, we 0:07:43.676 --> 0:07:46.436 need to take you to the family room. And I remember, 0:07:47.196 --> 0:07:51.036 just like it just happened just now. When they said that, 0:07:51.796 --> 0:07:54.356 I was like, I'm not going. I'm not going into 0:07:54.396 --> 0:07:57.476 the family room because in that moment, you know that 0:07:57.516 --> 0:08:01.516 your child is gone. And so I said at that point, 0:08:01.596 --> 0:08:04.636 I started to demand to see Courtney, and they were like, 0:08:04.676 --> 0:08:06.756 we can't allow you to see him, and I'm like, 0:08:06.956 --> 0:08:14.716 you know, it was an emotional, emotional moment because everyone 0:08:14.836 --> 0:08:17.956 knew at that moment that Courtney was gone. But you know, 0:08:18.396 --> 0:08:21.356 as a mom, you want to see that confirmation. You 0:08:21.476 --> 0:08:25.636 want to you want to see your child, and they 0:08:25.636 --> 0:08:30.476 were at first denying us the right to see Courtney, 0:08:30.676 --> 0:08:34.556 and they were denying us the right to even really 0:08:34.596 --> 0:08:38.396 know a lot of information about him. What was the 0:08:38.396 --> 0:08:43.036 reason they wouldn't let you see Courtney, Well, because it 0:08:43.196 --> 0:08:47.396 was a murder investigation. And so they said that the 0:08:47.516 --> 0:08:51.356 police had already determined that this was a murder and 0:08:51.476 --> 0:08:54.316 that no one is to be able to see him. 0:08:54.716 --> 0:08:57.476 And so they said their protocol is to send them 0:08:57.516 --> 0:09:02.796 directly to the morgue. And so about forty five minutes 0:09:02.796 --> 0:09:06.116 to an hour, the doctor finally comes and tells us 0:09:05.836 --> 0:09:09.996 what happened. And so we're in the family room and 0:09:10.276 --> 0:09:12.916 at this time it's about thirty family members that are 0:09:12.956 --> 0:09:16.316 with us, and his friends, his closest friends, and they 0:09:16.316 --> 0:09:18.716 were like, you know, the doctor came and said, your 0:09:18.716 --> 0:09:22.196 son was brought in by ambulance and he was shot, 0:09:22.756 --> 0:09:25.436 and all of us just like shot by who? And 0:09:25.516 --> 0:09:29.276 we all fell to the ground because we couldn't believe. 0:09:29.316 --> 0:09:33.276 I mean, because for Courtney to be shot, it was 0:09:33.316 --> 0:09:37.916 just something that was unfathomable about him, of all people 0:09:37.996 --> 0:09:41.236 being shot. He was not you know, violent, he you know, 0:09:41.276 --> 0:09:45.196 if he saw confrontation Courtney would leave, so for them 0:09:45.236 --> 0:09:48.556 to tell us that he had been shot, we immediately said, 0:09:48.716 --> 0:09:53.116 by who who did this to him? After nearly two 0:09:53.196 --> 0:09:57.116 hours of pleading with hospital doctors and staff, Chapel was 0:09:57.236 --> 0:10:00.516 finally allowed to see her son. She and her family 0:10:00.556 --> 0:10:03.036 made their way to the trauma ward, where Courtney was 0:10:03.116 --> 0:10:06.996 lying on a hospital bed. I would probably say that 0:10:07.156 --> 0:10:10.916 was probably the hardest moment of my life to be 0:10:11.036 --> 0:10:17.316 able to see him in that state. You know, I 0:10:17.436 --> 0:10:23.316 remember so vividly when we first walked in the room, 0:10:24.156 --> 0:10:26.676 and you know, all of my family was there, and 0:10:28.556 --> 0:10:32.716 I can remember myself just telling everybody, I need to 0:10:32.756 --> 0:10:37.116 be along with my baby. I need a moment. I 0:10:37.236 --> 0:10:40.636 need him to know that you know, Mommy was sorry 0:10:40.676 --> 0:10:44.836 that she wasn't there. You know. I just imagine my 0:10:44.876 --> 0:10:49.596 son going through all this trauma by himself and not 0:10:49.796 --> 0:10:52.836 having his mom there, and that was hard for me. 0:10:54.316 --> 0:10:59.436 And I remember touching him and kissing him and his 0:11:00.036 --> 0:11:04.636 body was still warm, and you know, you know those 0:11:04.716 --> 0:11:09.676 moments you just think about all of the time that 0:11:09.796 --> 0:11:14.396 you had and they're rushing back every moment from birth 0:11:14.476 --> 0:11:18.836 and him into this moment where you're looking at him 0:11:18.956 --> 0:11:22.596 for his final days, his final seconds, his final hours, 0:11:23.876 --> 0:11:27.916 and there's that very final moment when you're getting ready 0:11:27.916 --> 0:11:34.836 to say goodbye. There's a moment at the hospital that 0:11:34.956 --> 0:11:40.516 night where when you feel more than just grief. Yes. Yes. 0:11:40.996 --> 0:11:46.916 After we view Courtney, the two detectives that allow us 0:11:46.916 --> 0:11:52.276 to see him, they begin to question us about Courtney 0:11:52.396 --> 0:11:55.876 in the vehicle. The first question they asked was who 0:11:55.956 --> 0:11:59.276 was the owner of the BMW, And I said, Courtney. 0:11:59.676 --> 0:12:03.036 Courtney is owner of the BMW. And I said, but 0:12:03.116 --> 0:12:06.196 he did have a co signer. So on my mind, 0:12:08.396 --> 0:12:12.676 I was thinking maybe this was a traffic stop gone wrong, 0:12:12.916 --> 0:12:17.636 because why would you be questioning you know, I'm thinking detectives. 0:12:17.796 --> 0:12:19.596 If they're telling me that my son was shot and 0:12:19.716 --> 0:12:23.276 killed by an unknown assailant, then the first thing should 0:12:23.276 --> 0:12:26.436 have been you know, where was he going, who was 0:12:26.436 --> 0:12:30.036 he with? What information do you know? But to question 0:12:30.156 --> 0:12:36.436 the vehicle it made me suspicious of their intent. Maybe 0:12:36.436 --> 0:12:40.396 they thought that Coordiney had stolen the vehicle. It was 0:12:40.436 --> 0:12:43.036 like to me they were interrogating Coordiney as opposed to 0:12:43.036 --> 0:12:46.476 trying to find out who could have done this to him. 0:12:48.236 --> 0:12:50.876 So at this point, Chaperl, you decide to take matters 0:12:50.876 --> 0:12:53.116 into your own hands, and you go in a full 0:12:53.556 --> 0:12:57.396 investigator mode. I'm trying to put myself in your shoes, 0:12:57.556 --> 0:13:02.036 and it's hard to imagine where I'd even begin. Well, 0:13:02.836 --> 0:13:07.756 you know, it wasn't by choice that I took this 0:13:07.956 --> 0:13:12.676 journey and investigating my son's murder. I had no other option. 0:13:13.796 --> 0:13:19.236 I felt that Courtney deserved to have closure. I mean 0:13:19.476 --> 0:13:21.996 it was like day in and day out from the 0:13:22.076 --> 0:13:25.596 moment I found out that Courtney had been killed. I 0:13:25.636 --> 0:13:29.436 needed to know why. I still need to know why, 0:13:29.876 --> 0:13:32.956 and I needed to know how, how did these things occur, 0:13:33.196 --> 0:13:36.836 what happened, and so you know, within my being, it 0:13:36.956 --> 0:13:41.036 was just constantly turning all of these unknowns and I 0:13:41.076 --> 0:13:45.796 had to try to uncover whatever I could. I mean literally, 0:13:45.916 --> 0:13:51.716 we were working. We were working on Courtney's case twenty 0:13:51.716 --> 0:13:55.156 four to seven. I don't think I slept the first 0:13:55.156 --> 0:13:59.516 week because I would maybe sleep like two to three 0:13:59.596 --> 0:14:04.996 hours because I was constantly going over the timeline. I 0:14:05.076 --> 0:14:09.476 was recording what my thoughts were, any tips, I was 0:14:09.516 --> 0:14:12.396 putting it in there. We were going out in the neighborhood, 0:14:12.516 --> 0:14:16.316 we were walking looking for clues. We were talking to 0:14:16.476 --> 0:14:19.756 his friends that he would have encountered that night. So 0:14:19.796 --> 0:14:23.476 we were literally we had all boots on the streets 0:14:23.516 --> 0:14:29.036 trying to figure out what happened. You eventually tracked down 0:14:29.116 --> 0:14:33.956 Courtney's hospital records. What did the record say? You know, 0:14:34.076 --> 0:14:38.636 at the time that I actually received the medical records, 0:14:38.956 --> 0:14:44.356 I had already had suspicions that something was wrong. So 0:14:44.516 --> 0:14:48.476 the first page of the medical documents was the Chicago 0:14:48.516 --> 0:14:53.396 Fire Department runs sheet, and that particular run sheet, the 0:14:53.436 --> 0:14:59.716 first paragraph of it it states that my son was violent, agitated, combative, 0:15:00.316 --> 0:15:04.876 and a threat to others. And so I knew in 0:15:04.996 --> 0:15:08.476 my heart, because I know my son, that this information 0:15:08.836 --> 0:15:12.596 had to be wrong. As I continue to read, it 0:15:12.716 --> 0:15:17.436 says and the patient was handcuffed. When I saw that 0:15:17.516 --> 0:15:21.436 my son was handcuffed, I lost it. I mean I 0:15:21.476 --> 0:15:25.996 was just like, why would you handcuffed somebody who was 0:15:26.076 --> 0:15:29.316 dying and he went to you for help? And so 0:15:29.476 --> 0:15:31.916 none of this made any sense to me, and it 0:15:32.036 --> 0:15:35.676 only hyped my suspicion. You know, you felt a little 0:15:35.716 --> 0:15:39.356 comfort in knowing that at least he was well cared 0:15:39.356 --> 0:15:42.276 for on the scene, but when you find out that 0:15:42.276 --> 0:15:48.276 that was not true, it just crushed me. Throughout your investigation, 0:15:48.876 --> 0:15:51.836 you and members of the community are sharing leads with 0:15:51.876 --> 0:15:55.116 the police, but they seemed to be falling on deaf ears. 0:15:55.956 --> 0:15:59.596 In fact, the police department goes totally silent on you 0:15:59.676 --> 0:16:03.036 for an entire year. What tactics do you use to 0:16:03.036 --> 0:16:07.116 try to keep their attention on Courtney's case. Well, we 0:16:07.236 --> 0:16:11.316 actually did rallies outside of the twenty fifth district. We 0:16:11.476 --> 0:16:16.716 marched on the mirror office, and we also canvased the neighborhoods. 0:16:17.356 --> 0:16:22.196 We talked to neighbors who hit video cameras. We requested 0:16:22.276 --> 0:16:25.556 for your information Freedom of Information Act so that that 0:16:25.596 --> 0:16:28.556 way we can get all the tapes, the audio, the visual, 0:16:28.716 --> 0:16:35.156 the pod cameras, everything that surrounded this case. Chaparral was 0:16:35.196 --> 0:16:38.476 intent on getting access to the footage surrounding Courtney's death 0:16:38.836 --> 0:16:41.796 and began searching the web for potential partners who could 0:16:41.836 --> 0:16:45.116 help her. One night, around two thirty in the morning, 0:16:45.356 --> 0:16:49.196 she came across an article about Lakwan McDonald, the seventeen 0:16:49.236 --> 0:16:52.076 year old who was fatally shot by a Chicago police 0:16:52.076 --> 0:16:56.556 officer in twenty fourteen. The article cited a nonprofit called 0:16:56.556 --> 0:17:00.316 The Invisible Institute. The institute had played a key role 0:17:00.396 --> 0:17:04.956 in getting footage release from LaQuan McDonald's case. And so 0:17:05.276 --> 0:17:09.076 I said, well, at this point, I have nothing to lose. 0:17:09.676 --> 0:17:11.996 I'm going to write to the Invisible Institute to see 0:17:11.996 --> 0:17:14.876 if I can get some help with trying to get 0:17:14.876 --> 0:17:18.156 the videotapes and the audio tapes that we know that 0:17:18.196 --> 0:17:21.596 the police have surrounding Courtney's case, because at that point, 0:17:21.636 --> 0:17:24.356 I was only looking for someone to listen to me 0:17:24.716 --> 0:17:27.516 and to hear me, because I felt like everything I 0:17:27.596 --> 0:17:31.236 was saying as a mom, it was being misconstrued as 0:17:31.356 --> 0:17:34.356 I'm just a grieving mom and none of this have 0:17:34.596 --> 0:17:38.836 any merit. But what I was showing to the world, 0:17:38.956 --> 0:17:41.436 what I wanted the world to understand, that there are 0:17:41.436 --> 0:17:45.556 a lot of inconsistencies in this case. Yeah, it's so 0:17:45.676 --> 0:17:49.796 interesting how when you occupy the role of mom, there's 0:17:49.836 --> 0:17:54.596 a presumption that emotions bias, all that stuff is creeping in, 0:17:54.636 --> 0:17:57.796 when in actuality, you were holding yourself to a very 0:17:57.916 --> 0:18:01.876 rigorous process and you were just trying to find the facts. Yes, 0:18:02.436 --> 0:18:06.436 very early on, my friend Santita, she told me, you 0:18:06.476 --> 0:18:08.476 don't want to come to a conclusion. You want to 0:18:08.556 --> 0:18:11.996 arrive the conclusion. You want to let the evidence lead 0:18:12.076 --> 0:18:16.196 you to what happened to your son. And so that 0:18:16.276 --> 0:18:21.596 was one of the crucial advices that I received and 0:18:21.756 --> 0:18:25.516 that I tried to adapt during the whole process, that 0:18:25.636 --> 0:18:30.316 I wanted to naturally allow the evidence to tell us 0:18:30.316 --> 0:18:36.156 what happened to Courtney. I'm wondering whether strategies you use 0:18:36.396 --> 0:18:39.476 to try and gain more credibility in the eyes of 0:18:39.516 --> 0:18:44.116 the police force given your status as quote mom. You know, 0:18:44.356 --> 0:18:47.836 I think that they were dismissive because I was a mom, 0:18:48.196 --> 0:18:51.916 They would dismissive because I was black, all of these things, 0:18:52.436 --> 0:18:54.956 and I don't know if they would treat everyone like that, 0:18:54.996 --> 0:18:58.076 but I felt that they treated me very badly. But 0:18:58.196 --> 0:19:04.036 I believe that they felt that because I'm not I 0:19:04.076 --> 0:19:07.356 didn't go to law school. I didn't go to the 0:19:07.356 --> 0:19:11.476 police academy that they're for. That my only knowledge about 0:19:11.996 --> 0:19:17.756 solving crimes is Special Victims Unit on Law and Order. 0:19:17.836 --> 0:19:20.796 That's what That's what they basically thought that I was doing. 0:19:21.356 --> 0:19:23.956 And just like I told them, I said, no, this 0:19:24.036 --> 0:19:27.756 is basic information. I mean, you know, I had to 0:19:28.116 --> 0:19:33.316 actually read a lot of terminology. I had to understand 0:19:33.996 --> 0:19:36.396 everything that I was reading in their report. Some things 0:19:36.436 --> 0:19:38.476 I didn't understand and I had to go and look 0:19:38.516 --> 0:19:40.156 it up. Well, what does this mean? When they say, 0:19:40.196 --> 0:19:44.156 this is what does these code me in police language. 0:19:44.196 --> 0:19:46.836 So in order for me to understand that, I had 0:19:46.876 --> 0:19:49.636 to actually reach out to a couple of police offers 0:19:49.636 --> 0:19:52.156 of friends that I know, had to reach out to 0:19:52.516 --> 0:19:55.116 some share off people that I know, and to try 0:19:55.116 --> 0:19:57.956 to figure out the terminology so I can understand on 0:19:58.116 --> 0:20:01.956 their level. Same with the autopsic report. It's a lot 0:20:01.956 --> 0:20:05.916 of medical terminology I didn't know, so as a mom, 0:20:06.316 --> 0:20:09.436 I had to take off my mom emotional world and 0:20:09.476 --> 0:20:14.276 put on my investigative mode hat and try to figure 0:20:14.276 --> 0:20:16.276 out what happened to my son. So I wanted to 0:20:16.316 --> 0:20:20.716 know all the ins and outs, how the bullet travel everything, 0:20:20.836 --> 0:20:23.076 And people were like, this is just too much. It's 0:20:23.076 --> 0:20:25.396 too much, You're doing too much, and I will tell 0:20:25.436 --> 0:20:27.916 them no, I need to know. I need to know 0:20:28.036 --> 0:20:31.636 how did my son pass away. I need to know. 0:20:33.316 --> 0:20:37.076 Together with the Invisible Institute, Chaparral continued to advocate for 0:20:37.116 --> 0:20:41.196 the release of footage from Courtney's final moments, and finally 0:20:41.316 --> 0:20:44.036 the police agree to turn it over. One and a 0:20:44.116 --> 0:20:48.396 half years after Courtney's death, I asked chaparl what it 0:20:48.476 --> 0:20:50.716 was like to hold those videos in her hands for 0:20:50.756 --> 0:20:58.476 the first time. You know, I remember receiving the videos 0:20:59.236 --> 0:21:05.036 in my mailbox, and I had prepared myself all right, 0:21:05.876 --> 0:21:09.476 came up in my room, set up the DVD player, 0:21:10.836 --> 0:21:14.356 got prepared to watch it. I prayed before I loaded 0:21:14.396 --> 0:21:15.916 it because I knew it was going to be hard 0:21:16.676 --> 0:21:21.436 to actually see it. I pop it in and it 0:21:21.516 --> 0:21:25.556 tells me it's in a format that I can't even read. 0:21:26.676 --> 0:21:32.836 So I remember feeling this horrible, horrible feeling like they're 0:21:32.876 --> 0:21:36.076 playing with me, They're playing with my emotions. They knew 0:21:36.116 --> 0:21:38.196 that they sent me a format that I couldn't read, 0:21:38.676 --> 0:21:41.316 so I remember just crying out, and I called the 0:21:41.356 --> 0:21:44.756 Invisible Institute to ask them if they can decode it. 0:21:45.956 --> 0:21:50.716 So the moment that we get the videotape decoded, I 0:21:50.836 --> 0:21:55.556 remember the Invisible Institute being with me, and all I 0:21:55.596 --> 0:22:00.396 could see is my son just like reaching up on 0:22:00.476 --> 0:22:07.076 his knees, begging them to help, begging. He surrounded by 0:22:07.196 --> 0:22:11.836 eight to ten cops. My son is begging to be helped, 0:22:13.156 --> 0:22:18.956 and then the video cuts away and focuses on the 0:22:18.996 --> 0:22:23.996 police station for two minutes, and so I'm like, what 0:22:24.156 --> 0:22:28.636 is happening to my son? I'm panicking because I don't 0:22:28.636 --> 0:22:30.796 even know what's happening. At this point, why would the 0:22:30.916 --> 0:22:36.796 video just automatically turn away from the scene into we're 0:22:36.836 --> 0:22:41.956 watching the police station. And then the next frame is 0:22:41.956 --> 0:22:45.156 when they aggressively picked up my son off the ground, 0:22:45.716 --> 0:22:49.556 throw him against the police car, and then onto the 0:22:49.596 --> 0:22:52.716 gurney as if he was a ragged out And that's 0:22:52.756 --> 0:23:02.196 why I often tell people, it's so hard, it's so 0:23:02.276 --> 0:23:07.076 hard to even imagine the emotions that my son. I 0:23:08.076 --> 0:23:13.716 just know my son was just so confused, like police 0:23:13.756 --> 0:23:16.076 are supposed to be here to serve and protect you, 0:23:17.916 --> 0:23:24.076 and I'm shocked, I'm scared what's happening. And this is 0:23:24.076 --> 0:23:28.956 what his final moments worked, and he was by himself. 0:23:29.396 --> 0:23:31.956 And I tell people all the time that's like the 0:23:31.996 --> 0:23:36.556 hardest thing for me as a mom to know that 0:23:36.836 --> 0:23:40.436 he endured all this by himself, and there was nobody 0:23:40.516 --> 0:23:47.116 there who cared enough for him to help him through 0:23:47.156 --> 0:23:53.396 this and to comfort him in these moments. Not a 0:23:53.516 --> 0:24:08.596 soul was there. We'll be back in a moment with 0:24:08.676 --> 0:24:15.596 a slight change of plans. Over the next several years, 0:24:15.716 --> 0:24:19.476 Chaparral Wells continued to push for further clarity around what 0:24:19.636 --> 0:24:23.556 actually happened to her son Courtney Copeland. In September of 0:24:23.596 --> 0:24:26.676 twenty twenty, she received some news from the City of Chicago. 0:24:27.516 --> 0:24:31.916 Chaparral's advocacy had paid off. The Office of the Inspector General, 0:24:31.996 --> 0:24:35.756 an independent watchdog agency, had decided to launch a formal 0:24:35.836 --> 0:24:41.956 investigation into Courtney's case. The investigation is currently under way. 0:24:42.876 --> 0:24:46.116 Where do you go from here, Chaparral? A lot of 0:24:46.116 --> 0:24:49.156 people say, you know, don't put too much stock in 0:24:49.316 --> 0:24:56.916 what this report shows, But I think that what happened 0:24:57.196 --> 0:25:03.556 to Courtney has to be addressed on all levels of 0:25:03.676 --> 0:25:08.716 city government, state government, federal government, because I feel that 0:25:08.836 --> 0:25:16.076 the incidents occur far more frequently than police shootings, but 0:25:16.196 --> 0:25:21.316 they don't get the highlight and the notoriety because it's 0:25:21.396 --> 0:25:25.156 not the police pulling the trigger or a beat down 0:25:25.396 --> 0:25:29.316 or a knee on a neck. But these type of 0:25:29.436 --> 0:25:36.396 incidents of racial profiling and the police accountability need to 0:25:36.396 --> 0:25:41.556 be addressed. So I'm looking for more legislative changes to 0:25:41.636 --> 0:25:47.436 see if the Inspector General kild make policy changes that 0:25:47.476 --> 0:25:52.876 would change the policy from they can intervene until they 0:25:53.196 --> 0:25:57.196 must intervene to help to save more lives. Because the 0:25:57.276 --> 0:25:59.796 reality is is that, like I said, it wasn't the 0:25:59.836 --> 0:26:02.476 fact that Courtney was shot. It was the lack of 0:26:02.636 --> 0:26:07.396 urgency to his care. You know, recently, Offers a French 0:26:07.876 --> 0:26:13.036 was shot Chicago and she was killed. I listened to 0:26:13.196 --> 0:26:18.916 that traffic on the police scanner that day, and I 0:26:18.956 --> 0:26:22.556 was listening in real time. I saw how they move 0:26:22.716 --> 0:26:25.756 heaven and earth to get her to the nearest trauma 0:26:25.796 --> 0:26:30.156 center as they should. As they should, But that same 0:26:30.276 --> 0:26:34.236 care that they put for offers of French should go 0:26:34.316 --> 0:26:38.916 for every citizen in Chicago in the United States. There 0:26:38.916 --> 0:26:41.916 should be no respect of person because of their title. 0:26:42.796 --> 0:26:46.716 But everybody deserves a fighting chance, and so if we 0:26:46.836 --> 0:26:52.716 make these legislative changes to ensure that everyone has the 0:26:52.876 --> 0:27:00.196 opportunity at life, then that would be justice for Courtney. 0:27:02.796 --> 0:27:05.596 Did you ever find your relationship at the police changing 0:27:05.836 --> 0:27:09.396 throughout this process, I mean, how you approach that change 0:27:09.516 --> 0:27:14.196 in any way? Well, I would say we still have 0:27:14.236 --> 0:27:19.076 a contentious relationship. I would say that I still have 0:27:19.116 --> 0:27:23.436 no faith in them that they would actually solve Courtney's murder. 0:27:23.996 --> 0:27:28.556 But I'm hoping that we can come to a clear 0:27:28.636 --> 0:27:34.116 understanding that Courtney deserves justice. This was not for me 0:27:35.596 --> 0:27:40.156 an investigation on the police to try to entrap them 0:27:40.276 --> 0:27:42.996 or to make them look like the bad guy. I 0:27:43.116 --> 0:27:46.956 wanted justice for my son. It didn't matter if it 0:27:46.996 --> 0:27:50.796 was the police, if it was a stranger. Whoever did 0:27:50.876 --> 0:27:55.356 this to Courtney, they deserved to be prosecuted and convicted 0:27:55.436 --> 0:27:58.156 of this crime. So that was my only goal, and 0:27:58.236 --> 0:28:00.636 I was always telling them, I want you to treat 0:28:01.156 --> 0:28:03.996 my son as if it was yours. How would you 0:28:04.196 --> 0:28:08.316 go about handling this investigation if it was your child 0:28:08.436 --> 0:28:14.516 on that slab instead of mine. I'm curious to know 0:28:14.556 --> 0:28:18.436