Chicago police discovered a man's body in the backseat of a brand-new, unused squad car early Thursday morning, parked in the 700 block of East 112th Street in the Pullman neighborhood — practically in the shadow of the police station itself. Officers found him around 9:15 a.m. and he was pronounced dead at the scene, according to CPD.
The vehicle sat just steps from the Chicago Police Department's 5th District (Calumet) station and Area 2 Headquarters at 727 East 111th Street, meaning the discovery location was immediately adjacent to the department's own facility, according to Ward 9. WGN-TV reported that police confirmed the body was a man's but have released no further details, including his identity or how he came to be there.
What makes the case especially puzzling is the condition of the vehicle where he was found. The squad car was new and had never been placed into service, per WGN-TV's reporting, raising immediate questions about how anyone could have gotten inside a police vehicle that hadn't yet been assigned to patrol duty.
Area 2 Detectives Take Over an Investigation on Their Own Turf
CPD's Area Two Detectives, who are headquartered inside that same 5th District facility, are now leading the death investigation into how the unidentified man ended up in the parked, unassigned squad car, according to FOX 32 Chicago. The unit was restored as a standalone detective bureau at that Pullman address in 2020, as Hoodline has previously reported.
The 5th District covers a wide swath of the Far South Side, including Pullman, Roseland, West Pullman, Riverdale, Washington Heights, and South Deering. Investigators there have handled a string of violent incidents in recent weeks, including a 14-year-old shot in Morgan Park.
What Is Known About the Car
One detail about the vehicle is clear: the squad car was new and had never been placed into service, per the same FOX 32 report.
FOX 32 Chicago noted that the man's identity and cause of death remained unknown. The 5th District and Area 2 complex was built through the Public Building Commission of Chicago, according to the Public Building Commission of Chicago, which only deepens the mystery of how the vehicle's backseat became a scene investigators now need to untangle.
Medical Examiner and Oversight Officials Could Weigh In
Because the death occurred suddenly and without an obvious explanation, jurisdiction over determining an official cause and manner of death falls to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office, which by county ordinance and state law handles all sudden, unattended, or suspicious deaths, according to Cook County. That office accepts more than 5,000 cases annually for postmortem examination.
Whether the Civilian Office of Police Accountability opens any review into how the man accessed a vehicle inside the station lot has not been announced.
The discovery occurred at a CPD facility, and it remains to be seen whether Thursday's discovery will prompt any disruption in Pullman.
For now, police have offered no further details on the man's identity, cause of death, or how he entered the vehicle. Reporters and residents alike are expected to watch for updates from the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office on identification and autopsy findings, along with any further statements from Area Two Detectives.
