Details Scarce 4 Months After Fatal Homewood Shooting

Little information has surfaced since the officer-involved shooting of a Homewood man inside an apartment building nearly four months ago.

An attorney at the law firm representing Brandon Culpepper’s family in a lawsuit against the Homewood Police Department told Patch they haven't heard much from authorities and investigators since making a request for more information about the shooting death.

“My client is dead and the department hasn’t said too much regarding what has occurred,” said Gregory Kulis of the Chicago-based firm Gregory E. Kulis & Associates.

Culpepper confronted police on the third floor of an Olive Road apartment building in the early morning of Jan. 27, according to reports. Officers had been called to the building for a report of a disturbance. The Cook County medical examiner’s office identified the man as 30-year-old Culpepper.

That’s where the details begin to dry up.

READ MORE: Family Sues Police After Fatal Shooting of Homewood Man

Homewood police have released next to no information about the shooting. Messages left with a spokeswoman with the department have not been returned.

State police, who were called to investigate the officer-involved shooting, aren’t commenting. A spokesman for the Illinois State Police said their investigation is ongoing.

Culpepper’s family filed their lawsuit in February, about a week after his death. The wrongful death suit filed in federal court alleges that Culpepper was shot despite any reports of him having a weapon or attacking police.

A subpoena for information about the shooting from Kulis’ office resulted in Homewood releasing the name of the officer and little else. In response to his clients’ complaint, the department denied that the shooting was excessive.

“At this point, we don’t know much ourselves,” Kulis said.

For now, the law firm representing Culpepper’s family will continue to gather information as it is made available through discovery but it will be a long time before this civil suit would go before a judge in court.