Chicago officer stripped of his powers amid shooting probe

A Chicago police officer who was off duty when he shot a man in the hand during a Friday confrontation has been stripped of his police powers while the incident is investigated, police said.

The officer wasn't working late Friday when he heard gunshots 'œand approached an occupied parked vehicle'ť in Chicago's Albany Park neighborhood, Chicago police said Saturday in a statement.

A confrontation between the officer and the vehicle's occupants followed during which the officer fired his weapon, striking a man in the hand, police said.

The wounded man was taken to a hospital and arrested pending further investigation, while the off-duty officer, who was not injured, was taken to an area hospital for observation.

Police did not say what prompted Police Superintendent David Brown to make the unusual decision to relieve the officer of his police powers pending an investigation by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability - an independent agency that probes the use of police force and potential misconduct.

Officers who are involved in shootings are typically reassigned to administrative duty for 30 days, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

'œBased upon early investigative results and after consulting with the Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department (CPD), COPA supports the Superintendent's decision to relieve the involved officer of his police powers,'ť a spokesman for the agency said.