Stephen Baldwin

Chicago’s police watchdog released footage on January 25 that shows an officer using a taser to shock a suspect after the man fled a traffic stop on the South Side late last year.The footage was filmed on the body cameras worn by Officer Marissa Garbacz and Officer Benjamin Deyoung on November 27, 2017, and was released by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, who were investigating the incident.The footage shows the suspect, identified in an arrest report as 41-year-old Stephen Baldwin, running from the officers after he was stopped near 79th Street and Champlain Avenue in the Chatham neighborhood.Officer Garbacz is seen chasing the suspect before she finds him hiding under a stairwell behind a home. She repeatedly orders him to put his hands up before the suspect attempts to climb over a fence. Officer Garbacz uses at taser to shock Baldwin and he is seen falling to the ground. The video later shows him being handcuffed and led away by police.The police report showed that Baldwin was taken to a hospital to be treated for bleeding on the brain.He was awaiting trial on felony charges of forgery, identity theft and possession of a fraudulent identification card, and was being held in the Cook County Jail on $50,000 bail, the Chicago Tribune reported.The outlet also said that the incident occurred a little more than a month after the Chicago Police Department tightened its guidelines on Taser use to discourage officers from shocking people who are running away or otherwise vulnerable to injury. As of Thursday, COPA was still investigating the November incident involving Baldwin, the Chicago Tribune reported. Credit: Chicago Police Department via Storyful