May 13, 2023 • 15 mins
Three years after the release of “Somebody” podcast, Chicago continues to block the full release of the Inspector General report investigating the police response to Courtney Copeland’s murder. In this update episode, Shapearl Wells discusses the summary findings of the report that were publicly shared while she presses on for full transparency.
A co-production of Topic Studios, The Intercept, the Invisible Institute, and iHeartRadio, in association with Tenderfoot TV.
We want to hear from you, email us at info@somebodypodcast.com or leave us a voicemail at 773-270-0121.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Yes, every day. No fis not.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
No, that's right.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Hey, it's Chapearl. Somebody came out about three years ago,
and since then, there's a lot of things that has
been happening in Courtney's case. So to make sure I
catch you up to date. Since this podcast came out,
one of Courtney's sisters got married and now I'm a
grandmother of two. One name is Josiah and the other
(00:58):
one name is Justice, saying I love you, I love
you so much.
Speaker 4 (01:04):
Justice.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
As a family, we've been going places that I know
Courtney would love. Hey, babug, we are on our cruise,
Go j Admin, go Abbax, and we were having so
much fun. But I was always thinking of Courtney in
the background because I know that this is what he
(01:29):
loved to do. The water so beautiful here. Every year
we have the Courtney Copeland Memorial Foundation gala.
Speaker 5 (01:43):
That's good.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
And Courtney Copeland's grandmother. We're still one justice for Courtney,
and that's where we're focusing now now to find the
individuals who did this to him, to change the power
is with the Chicago Police Department, and even change the
laws regarding transporting gunshot victims to the hospitals it needs
(02:10):
to be a change.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
Here's my husband, Brent.
Speaker 6 (02:13):
It's like a club that no one wants to get into.
But the sad reality is that what we're in it.
But let's lean on each other or support to help
us get through this together.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
Because of somebody, a lot of people became interested in
his story.
Speaker 4 (02:30):
My prayers go out to you, guys.
Speaker 5 (02:32):
I hope that you are able to find peace of
mind and know that your son, Corney, is looking down on.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
You, smiling for everything that you've done for him so far.
I love this woman, tell her to keep up the
good work.
Speaker 7 (02:47):
I admire her, and may God bless her and her family.
Speaker 4 (02:53):
I just wanted to let you know that you're being
heard everywhere. We hear you, We hear your son's story
and the heartbreak.
Speaker 7 (03:01):
I am speaking on behalf of our family. My older
sister was murdered in nineteen eighty nine, and I just
really appreciated the honesty of the podcast and the openness
that this family shared.
Speaker 5 (03:19):
Having this story out there brings awareness. I just hope
she knows there's a lot of us that support her
and will think of her and will continue to fight
for the racial injustice that happens here in our own city.
There's people all over that are going to be fighting
with you.
Speaker 8 (03:38):
You understand that in this country there is almost no
family of any homicide victim who believes that the police
are doing enough. Everybody wants to see more of an effort.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Believe it or not, I was even on Dateline. I
don't think that a lot of families have access to
the evidence that I had. I was able to tell
the whole world about what happened to Courtney that night
because of the exposure that Dateline gave us. Even the
local stations like Channel eleven highlighted Courtney's story.
Speaker 9 (04:17):
Not only does schapearl Well want to know who killed
her son, but she also wants to know why Chicago
police officers didn't do more to assist her wounded son
and why he died well handcuffed after asking officers for help.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
The city of Chicago's Inspector General actually took a look
at the case just to try to see if the
Chicago Police Department did what they were supposed to do.
Speaker 10 (04:41):
Talking for one minute to the Inspector General's report, it's weird.
The whole thing is weird.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
It's not weird, it's very strategic I believe on CPD.
So the Inspector General report came out approximately about a
year ago. In that four paragraph summary, it gave important information.
It validated a lot of what our investigation uncovered. It
(05:14):
definitely said, without a doubt, Courtney Copeland was handcuffed by
Chicago police. It also stated whoever handcuffed him needed to
be with him in the ambulance, and because they weren't,
that violated CPD policy. The Inspector General recommended that the
(05:37):
sergeant be disciplined for his actions. But here's what the
police said.
Speaker 10 (05:42):
CPD stated that it does not agree that the Office
of the Inspector General proved by a preponderance of the
evidence that the victim was in fact handcuffed prior to
being transport of the hospital. How did you feel when
you read that?
Speaker 3 (05:56):
I was pissed off. I was literally upset because I'm like, dang,
My thing is that you took all of my son's
dignity in the final moments of his life. You made
a mistake, and even almost six years later, you can't
(06:21):
admit it. So basically, even the IG recognized that Courtney
was indeed handcuffed, but CPD still denies that fact to
this day. And instead of disciplining the sergeant, they gave
him a simple reprimand they didn't take him off the force,
(06:41):
they didn't put him on death duty. They gave him
a Reprimand another thing that the IG report highlighted was
a treatment that I received from the detectives at the
police station. Y'all remember this, well here, no, no.
Speaker 6 (06:57):
No, you're saying a lot of things.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
Tell me, I'm going to give you.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
I was upset the way they treated me because here
I am a grieving mother asking what happened to my son,
and this is how I was treated.
Speaker 10 (07:11):
Whether you thank me or tell me to get fucked
a d end all of this, it doesn't matter.
Speaker 7 (07:16):
It doesn't matter.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
I'm definitely gonna thank you because that's my goal.
Speaker 7 (07:19):
Yeah I.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Was murdered, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
Why but no apparently white.
Speaker 6 (07:26):
But as far as this whole black, brown, green shit,
it doesn't matter.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
The IG agreed with me that I was being disrespected.
But by the time that they said that the detective
had already retired. The IG said that if the detective
tried to re enlist with the Chicago Police Department that
he shouldn't be rehired, and they wanted that put in
his file. But guess what, CPD also refused to do that.
(08:12):
Now I'm going to turn this over to Alison so
she can give you further updates.
Speaker 11 (08:15):
Hey Alison, Hey Chaperl. You know, there was one thing
that came out of this report that has the potential
to do a lot of good. A change in policy
that the Inspector General recommended based on the very circumstances
of Courtney's death. Now this may seem like common sense,
but the recommendation is this, the department should review its
(08:36):
policies about providing first aid to injured people they encounter
and transport them to hospitals. You remember Scoop and Run
from the podcast Stop. When officers scoop up people who
are hurt and run them to the hospital, it saves lives.
But at the time of Courtney's death, the only thing
(08:58):
officers were required to do was call an ambulance. That's
the bare minimum, and that's exactly what they did back
in twenty sixteen. If you can believe this, police only
had to provide first aid to people who they had
shot themselves, not people like Courtney who came to them
with a gunshot wound.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
To think that they had the choice is unbelievable to me.
Speaker 11 (09:26):
CPD agreed to review their policies about all this stuff
the Inspector General exposed, but it appears that the department
has taken no action to update anything.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
A grieving mother is looking for answers and the full
report by the city's Inspector General into the killing of
her twenty two year old son, Courtney Copeland.
Speaker 11 (09:46):
And above all, Chapel wants to know who handcuffed Courtney.
The city's law office has refused to turn over the
full report. It's like a black hole where investigations go
to die in secret. See Chaparle got the final denial
a couple of weeks ago.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
This Sunday morning, I'm sitting here at my dining room table,
and it took me a while to actually even think
about recording something because I just feel so drained about
(10:39):
not being able to find out the truth about what
happened to my son.
Speaker 10 (10:55):
It is official.
Speaker 11 (10:56):
Chicago has elected a new mayor.
Speaker 10 (10:58):
Progressive Democrat Brandon Johnson defeated fellow Democrat Paul Vallas in
a close runoff.
Speaker 11 (11:03):
Phrase He will now take mayor Lori lightfoot seat. Johnson
is a teacher. These past few weeks, Chapearl's been feeling
more hopeful, and that's because Chicago's getting a big change.
Brandon Johnson is a former teacher and county commissioner, and
Chapparl campaigned for him.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
Hey Schapearl, Hey Alisea, how are you. I'm good, how
are you.
Speaker 11 (11:23):
As soon as I heard Johnson committed to releasing inspector
general investigations, I called Chapel.
Speaker 7 (11:29):
That's great, I know, after all this fighting, all it
takes is a new mayor to just promise to do
that in a questionnaire.
Speaker 4 (11:38):
So it's so important, you know that we actually get
this information now, not just for me, but you know,
any other these other cases that they're holding back giving
us all the details. I think it's, you know, so
crucial for the public to really find out what's actually
happening in Chicago.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
There's another development I want to tell you guys about
as well. So I'm sitting in the car right before
I'm going to meet the new sergeant that's handling Courtney's case.
Courtney's case is now out of the cold case unit.
Speaker 11 (12:13):
Okay, We're back in the car.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Yes, And I would say that. You know, I felt
this time, for the first time meeting with CPD, that
they actually listened to the details of the case and
what we had did in our investigation. And so I'm
hopeful I think that they realized that I'm not going
anywhere and that I'm going to keep pressing forward and
(12:37):
trying to get justice for Courtney. Well, he asked about
three or four times if we were recorded. I'm like, no, right,
I'm like, you know, you're thinking we're recording, and you
know he's worried about, you know, being on a hot mic.
This is Sergeant Keller. He was very very careful in
what he stated and how he said things, and he
(13:00):
is basically listened. But you know, I shouldn't have had
to record the police. I should have been treated with
dignity and respect. They never expected me to be the
type of parent that will continue to ask questions and
follow up. And I made it clear to Keller and
Perez that I'm gonna be in your face. You know,
(13:22):
you have this case. Now I want to follow up.
I don't want to. That was a year ago, but
I can say that the detective has been given me
regular updates on Courtney's case. He's actually even reinterviewed some
of the people that we interview during the podcast. So
right now I feel hopeful that maybe in the future
(13:42):
will get some answers. I don't know if Courtney will
receive justice, but I know I won't stop fighting for
justice for him, and I'll continue to fight until my
last bro.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Every Bye d songby every Day.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
No Boys, No, We'd love to hear from you. Email
us at info at Somebody podcast dot com or leave
us a voicemail at seven seven three two seven zero
zero one two one. Somebody is a co production of
(14:30):
Topic Studios, The Intercept, The Invisible Institute, and iHeartRadio in
association with Tenderfoot TV. This bonus episode was produced by
Alison Flowers, Arisa Apentaku, Bill Healey, and Sarah Geys for
The Invisible Institute. Jamie Calvin is executive producer for Topic Studios.
(14:57):
Christy Gressman is executive producer for The Intercept. Roger Hodge
is supervising producer and editor in chief. Legal review by
David Brailow and special thanks to Laura Flynn. Sound design
and mix by Bart Warshaw at Cocoon Audio, and our
(15:20):
theme music is by Chance the rapper. Original music for
this podcast is by Eric Butler and Nate Fox of
The Social Experiment. To learn more about this case and
links to additional materials, go to our show page at
topicstudios dot com. Slash Somebody
Yes, every day. No fis not.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
No, that's right.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Hey, it's Chapearl. Somebody came out about three years ago,
and since then, there's a lot of things that has
been happening in Courtney's case. So to make sure I
catch you up to date. Since this podcast came out,
one of Courtney's sisters got married and now I'm a
grandmother of two. One name is Josiah and the other
(00:58):
one name is Justice, saying I love you, I love
you so much.
Speaker 4 (01:04):
Justice.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
As a family, we've been going places that I know
Courtney would love. Hey, babug, we are on our cruise,
Go j Admin, go Abbax, and we were having so
much fun. But I was always thinking of Courtney in
the background because I know that this is what he
(01:29):
loved to do. The water so beautiful here. Every year
we have the Courtney Copeland Memorial Foundation gala.
Speaker 5 (01:43):
That's good.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
And Courtney Copeland's grandmother. We're still one justice for Courtney,
and that's where we're focusing now now to find the
individuals who did this to him, to change the power
is with the Chicago Police Department, and even change the
laws regarding transporting gunshot victims to the hospitals it needs
(02:10):
to be a change.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
Here's my husband, Brent.
Speaker 6 (02:13):
It's like a club that no one wants to get into.
But the sad reality is that what we're in it.
But let's lean on each other or support to help
us get through this together.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
Because of somebody, a lot of people became interested in
his story.
Speaker 4 (02:30):
My prayers go out to you, guys.
Speaker 5 (02:32):
I hope that you are able to find peace of
mind and know that your son, Corney, is looking down on.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
You, smiling for everything that you've done for him so far.
I love this woman, tell her to keep up the
good work.
Speaker 7 (02:47):
I admire her, and may God bless her and her family.
Speaker 4 (02:53):
I just wanted to let you know that you're being
heard everywhere. We hear you, We hear your son's story
and the heartbreak.
Speaker 7 (03:01):
I am speaking on behalf of our family. My older
sister was murdered in nineteen eighty nine, and I just
really appreciated the honesty of the podcast and the openness
that this family shared.
Speaker 5 (03:19):
Having this story out there brings awareness. I just hope
she knows there's a lot of us that support her
and will think of her and will continue to fight
for the racial injustice that happens here in our own city.
There's people all over that are going to be fighting
with you.
Speaker 8 (03:38):
You understand that in this country there is almost no
family of any homicide victim who believes that the police
are doing enough. Everybody wants to see more of an effort.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Believe it or not, I was even on Dateline. I
don't think that a lot of families have access to
the evidence that I had. I was able to tell
the whole world about what happened to Courtney that night
because of the exposure that Dateline gave us. Even the
local stations like Channel eleven highlighted Courtney's story.
Speaker 9 (04:17):
Not only does schapearl Well want to know who killed
her son, but she also wants to know why Chicago
police officers didn't do more to assist her wounded son
and why he died well handcuffed after asking officers for help.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
The city of Chicago's Inspector General actually took a look
at the case just to try to see if the
Chicago Police Department did what they were supposed to do.
Speaker 10 (04:41):
Talking for one minute to the Inspector General's report, it's weird.
The whole thing is weird.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
It's not weird, it's very strategic I believe on CPD.
So the Inspector General report came out approximately about a
year ago. In that four paragraph summary, it gave important information.
It validated a lot of what our investigation uncovered. It
(05:14):
definitely said, without a doubt, Courtney Copeland was handcuffed by
Chicago police. It also stated whoever handcuffed him needed to
be with him in the ambulance, and because they weren't,
that violated CPD policy. The Inspector General recommended that the
(05:37):
sergeant be disciplined for his actions. But here's what the
police said.
Speaker 10 (05:42):
CPD stated that it does not agree that the Office
of the Inspector General proved by a preponderance of the
evidence that the victim was in fact handcuffed prior to
being transport of the hospital. How did you feel when
you read that?
Speaker 3 (05:56):
I was pissed off. I was literally upset because I'm like, dang,
My thing is that you took all of my son's
dignity in the final moments of his life. You made
a mistake, and even almost six years later, you can't
(06:21):
admit it. So basically, even the IG recognized that Courtney
was indeed handcuffed, but CPD still denies that fact to
this day. And instead of disciplining the sergeant, they gave
him a simple reprimand they didn't take him off the force,
(06:41):
they didn't put him on death duty. They gave him
a Reprimand another thing that the IG report highlighted was
a treatment that I received from the detectives at the
police station. Y'all remember this, well here, no, no.
Speaker 6 (06:57):
No, you're saying a lot of things.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
Tell me, I'm going to give you.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
I was upset the way they treated me because here
I am a grieving mother asking what happened to my son,
and this is how I was treated.
Speaker 10 (07:11):
Whether you thank me or tell me to get fucked
a d end all of this, it doesn't matter.
Speaker 7 (07:16):
It doesn't matter.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
I'm definitely gonna thank you because that's my goal.
Speaker 7 (07:19):
Yeah I.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Was murdered, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
Why but no apparently white.
Speaker 6 (07:26):
But as far as this whole black, brown, green shit,
it doesn't matter.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
The IG agreed with me that I was being disrespected.
But by the time that they said that the detective
had already retired. The IG said that if the detective
tried to re enlist with the Chicago Police Department that
he shouldn't be rehired, and they wanted that put in
his file. But guess what, CPD also refused to do that.
(08:12):
Now I'm going to turn this over to Alison so
she can give you further updates.
Speaker 11 (08:15):
Hey Alison, Hey Chaperl. You know, there was one thing
that came out of this report that has the potential
to do a lot of good. A change in policy
that the Inspector General recommended based on the very circumstances
of Courtney's death. Now this may seem like common sense,
but the recommendation is this, the department should review its
(08:36):
policies about providing first aid to injured people they encounter
and transport them to hospitals. You remember Scoop and Run
from the podcast Stop. When officers scoop up people who
are hurt and run them to the hospital, it saves lives.
But at the time of Courtney's death, the only thing
(08:58):
officers were required to do was call an ambulance. That's
the bare minimum, and that's exactly what they did back
in twenty sixteen. If you can believe this, police only
had to provide first aid to people who they had
shot themselves, not people like Courtney who came to them
with a gunshot wound.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
To think that they had the choice is unbelievable to me.
Speaker 11 (09:26):
CPD agreed to review their policies about all this stuff
the Inspector General exposed, but it appears that the department
has taken no action to update anything.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
A grieving mother is looking for answers and the full
report by the city's Inspector General into the killing of
her twenty two year old son, Courtney Copeland.
Speaker 11 (09:46):
And above all, Chapel wants to know who handcuffed Courtney.
The city's law office has refused to turn over the
full report. It's like a black hole where investigations go
to die in secret. See Chaparle got the final denial
a couple of weeks ago.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
This Sunday morning, I'm sitting here at my dining room table,
and it took me a while to actually even think
about recording something because I just feel so drained about
(10:39):
not being able to find out the truth about what
happened to my son.
Speaker 10 (10:55):
It is official.
Speaker 11 (10:56):
Chicago has elected a new mayor.
Speaker 10 (10:58):
Progressive Democrat Brandon Johnson defeated fellow Democrat Paul Vallas in
a close runoff.
Speaker 11 (11:03):
Phrase He will now take mayor Lori lightfoot seat. Johnson
is a teacher. These past few weeks, Chapearl's been feeling
more hopeful, and that's because Chicago's getting a big change.
Brandon Johnson is a former teacher and county commissioner, and
Chapparl campaigned for him.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
Hey Schapearl, Hey Alisea, how are you. I'm good, how
are you.
Speaker 11 (11:23):
As soon as I heard Johnson committed to releasing inspector
general investigations, I called Chapel.
Speaker 7 (11:29):
That's great, I know, after all this fighting, all it
takes is a new mayor to just promise to do
that in a questionnaire.
Speaker 4 (11:38):
So it's so important, you know that we actually get
this information now, not just for me, but you know,
any other these other cases that they're holding back giving
us all the details. I think it's, you know, so
crucial for the public to really find out what's actually
happening in Chicago.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
There's another development I want to tell you guys about
as well. So I'm sitting in the car right before
I'm going to meet the new sergeant that's handling Courtney's case.
Courtney's case is now out of the cold case unit.
Speaker 11 (12:13):
Okay, We're back in the car.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Yes, And I would say that. You know, I felt
this time, for the first time meeting with CPD, that
they actually listened to the details of the case and
what we had did in our investigation. And so I'm
hopeful I think that they realized that I'm not going
anywhere and that I'm going to keep pressing forward and
(12:37):
trying to get justice for Courtney. Well, he asked about
three or four times if we were recorded. I'm like, no, right,
I'm like, you know, you're thinking we're recording, and you
know he's worried about, you know, being on a hot mic.
This is Sergeant Keller. He was very very careful in
what he stated and how he said things, and he
(13:00):
is basically listened. But you know, I shouldn't have had
to record the police. I should have been treated with
dignity and respect. They never expected me to be the
type of parent that will continue to ask questions and
follow up. And I made it clear to Keller and
Perez that I'm gonna be in your face. You know,
(13:22):
you have this case. Now I want to follow up.
I don't want to. That was a year ago, but
I can say that the detective has been given me
regular updates on Courtney's case. He's actually even reinterviewed some
of the people that we interview during the podcast. So
right now I feel hopeful that maybe in the future
(13:42):
will get some answers. I don't know if Courtney will
receive justice, but I know I won't stop fighting for
justice for him, and I'll continue to fight until my
last bro.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Every Bye d songby every Day.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
No Boys, No, We'd love to hear from you. Email
us at info at Somebody podcast dot com or leave
us a voicemail at seven seven three two seven zero
zero one two one. Somebody is a co production of
(14:30):
Topic Studios, The Intercept, The Invisible Institute, and iHeartRadio in
association with Tenderfoot TV. This bonus episode was produced by
Alison Flowers, Arisa Apentaku, Bill Healey, and Sarah Geys for
The Invisible Institute. Jamie Calvin is executive producer for Topic Studios.
(14:57):
Christy Gressman is executive producer for The Intercept. Roger Hodge
is supervising producer and editor in chief. Legal review by
David Brailow and special thanks to Laura Flynn. Sound design
and mix by Bart Warshaw at Cocoon Audio, and our
(15:20):
theme music is by Chance the rapper. Original music for
this podcast is by Eric Butler and Nate Fox of
The Social Experiment. To learn more about this case and
links to additional materials, go to our show page at
topicstudios dot com. Slash Somebody
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