>> i'm craig melvin. i'm craig melvin, and this is "dateline." and this is dateline. >> i remember telling him, i'm so sorry mommy wasn't there for you. i cannot rest until i find out who did this and why. who shot him? >> was he shot while he was in the car? >> in the car. >> who lives there, why would he be there? >> the only trouble that he would ever get in was with women. >> he was texting, making phone calls, all at the same time. >> you finally see that video from the police camera. >> i can't get that image out of my head. >> our son is on the ground dying. >> my family immediately went into action. >> you found out a lot of things on your own that police

didn't tell you. >> yes you need to keep investigating. >> i knew that i had to do the work myself. you'll only have a 26% murder solve rate. >> yes it's the community dealers failing here. >> my son deserves justice. i will keep fighting for him until my last breath. >> hello, and welcome to dateline. courtney copeland was larger than life, gifted salem's man and a caring son beloved by everyone who knew him. then one night he was shot while sitting in his car. desperate for help courtney sped straight to the police, what they did and did not do would launch a mother's unrelenting quest for answers. here is josh mankiewicz with the story of somebody. >> sometimes it is a sound that brings it all back. the thump of a basketball on a rim or back forward. that's when she can almost see him again. her son and his friends playing ball late into the night.

his name was courtney, but on the court he was hard worked 34, a left-hander who could shoot with either hand, a son who bounced through life. dancing with the dog and his sister. >> hello, jasmine. >> singing in his car. his joy made anything seen possible. sometimes those memories help his mom forget the horror of what came next. and the person she had to become. do you have any experience being an investigator? >> no, not at all. i'm a mom on a mission the last thing that his mom can do is go and find out who did this to him. >> her long battle to solve the mystery of what happened to her son, forced her to confront

questions that went beyond courtney. questions about who gets justice? in chicago? in this life? in this country? and who does not? >> it was almost like a willful -ness to not know what happened to courtney. >> if you want to get away with murder in america, kill a black person? before we answer that, let's go back to a march 9th in 2016 it was cold the way only chicago can be. she was asleep in her bed in suburban cicero. >> around 2 am, i hear this thunderous beat at my door. >> police shown their flashlight to the window and were followed was terrifying news. her 22-year-old son courtney was in the hospital but she says they didn't tell her why.

>> i remember falling to the floor because -- >> because if he's in there with a broken like they will tell you that. >> yes. so i knew that this must be bad. >> her first thought was an accident, courtney was well known for texting, dancing snap chatting while behind the wheel of his beloved bmw. at the hospital the family was taken not to see courtney but to a room with chairs and kleenex. clarissa hawkins was one of the nurses. >> i just remember shapearl wells kind of immediately start shaking. >> finally the doctor came in. >> and so he said that my son had arrived with a gunshot wound. >> shot in the back, they had done all they could but courtney was dead. >> i remember grabbing her in holding her hand and holding her. >> i remember us all proclaiming who shot him? because that was the furthest thing from my mind that my son

was shot and killed. >> of course, in the parts of chicago that appear more often in police reports that in tourism ads, getting a peaceful life doesn't immunize you against death at the hands of another. did you ever worry about him being caught up in the violence that seems to be raging in chicago in recent years? >> i would say i worried when he was in high school. like, you know, once he graduated from high school i was like, he made it, he is safe. >> that night at the hospital shapearl says police gave her onlycourtney had been found acrs town in a neighborhood shapearl hardly knew and she says they had a question for her. >> who was the owner of the bmw?

and i said, my son,. >> seemed like an odd thing to ask but shapearl had more pressing questions. like why courtney had even been in that neighborhood? friends gathered at the hospital including courtney's best friend chris. he told shapearl and the police he had seen courtney just a few hours earlier in cicero. in the parking lot next to their local pizza joint. >> and he was like, man, you know i just darted reading this book i'm writing all the things that i want to accomplish in my life. he was just so happy. >> chris says courtney was headed home, so how did he end up in northwest chicago? >> you know, i started asking who lives there? who do we know that lives there? why would he be there? >> finally someone at the

hospital put two and two together. that neighborhood was where alma lived. >> and i remember his cousin saying who's alma? where she? >> she's walking in and she says that's me what's going on? >> that's how shapearl learned that corden had a secret girlfriend. she wanted to talk to her hoping to learn something, anything about courtney's last moments. how he had come to rest in that hospital, where shapearl had just said goodbye. seeing him had to be the hardest thing you've ever gone through? >> it was, it was. i remember telling him, i'm so sorry, mommy wasn't there for you. i could imagine how he felt so scared, i don't know what happened to you. >> in that instant shapearl made a promise to herself and her son, she would do everything she could to find out what did happen. and nothing was going to stop her. >> shapearl looks to police for

answers about her son's murder, what would she learned about that awful night? coming up -- >> first of all you have our condolences. >> thank you. >> a meeting and a recording. >> was he shot while he was in the car? >> in the car. >> who was the officer on the scene? >> the questions for police were just beginning. >> by the time and make it back to the car, i'm looking tears and i'm like they did something to him, they did something to him. >> when dateline continues. aiting... and could reactivate. shingles strikes as a painful, blistering rash that can last for weeks. and it could wake at any time. think you're not at risk for shingles? it's time to wake up. because shingles could wake up in you. if you're over 50, talk to your doctor or pharmacist about shingles prevention. kayaking is my thing. running is awesome.

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stopped crying and in place of tears, came something else. >> there are a lot of uneasy questions and unanswered questions that are rolling through my mind. >> in her fog of grief she decided to start making audio recordings of her journey. maybe a way to make sense of it all. >> first of all, you have our condolences. >> thank you. >> and so shapearl was recorded when her and her husband met with chicago police after courtney's murder. >> we will do everything we can and follow the evidence where it takes us to bring the person that this this or persons to justice. >> the audio captures police interacting with a murder victims family in the early days of an investigation. >> everybody we have spoken to says your son was a great kid and nobody had a bad were to say about him. >> that was no surprise to shapearl. courtney was a mama's boy. >> my mom just came back from wisconsin and she bought me

this had that says gucci. gucci boy. >> and he was close to brandt, his step that. they bonded over wrestling and jokes from the time he was a little. >> he would say what do you call stolen cheese? i was at oh no and he would say nacho cheese. and i would say oh, god. >> my stepdad told me cut the grass -- this is my little twin. >> and he was fiercely protective of his little sisters. after semester away at college on an athletic scholarship courtney was home again, working and hanging out with friends. courtney had a lot of those. >> he had the ability to make everybody feel like he was their best friend. >> that is a pretty good skill to have in business. >> it is. >> courtney was in business with joe mendoza, selling memberships to a travel club called world ventures. courtney hustled as hard as he

had on the basketball court. determined to earn enough so his mom could stop working. >> i will tell you, if my mom is still working, i have to work triple. ten times harder. >> it was so normal for me to wake up to a message from him at six in the morning, seven in the morning, you know. >> and courtney's hard work was paying off. that flashy bmw he drove was a bonus from world ventures. >> welcome easy today! >> he picked it out himself. who gets a convertible in chicago? >> courtney. he does. >> he named his car? >> yes. he would say i love you baby. >> now, baby was in police custody. courtney's beloved car was potential evidence in his murder. and shapearl sat across the table from cpd detectives. >> okay, and based on the evidence that you have now, was

he shot while he was in the car? >> in the car. >> exactly where that had happened wasn't clear. somehow courtney seriously wounded had driven himself to a police station, where he asked an officer stopped at a traffic light for help. >> who was the officer on the scene that assisted my son? >> there were several officers on the scene and they were comforting to your son. we know that for a fact. >> the detective said they had already spent time knocking on doors looking for witnesses, so far, without much luck. >> we have a lack of witnesses. and that's any case, your son's case, any case, you want witnesses. you need people to tell you things that happened. >> she thought that she could help. she told detectives shimon had contacted her on facebook. that tipster set on the same night courtney was shot, he had seen three men driving around the area in a grand marquee.

later he had seen them tossing a handgun under a truck. >> that's already been addressed. and that's actually almost an hour afterwards. >> so this was a separate incident? >> separate incident, correct. >> detectives did say they wouldn't rule anything out, and told shapearl how they planned to work it. >> the way we work is we work from into out. closest to out. you know, you know, where courtney was at, what he was doing, who was seen? >> and surely, no one was closer to courtney that night then alma, his secret girlfriend. alma said courtney texted her he was outside her apartment that night. and then, never showed up. shapearl wanted to be sure detective spoke with her. >> i didn't know alma, i don't know if she had a crazy boyfriends or what have you. >> the sergeant reassured shapearl. >> normally throughout these courses of these investigations

we speak with people numerous times. >> before she left, courtney's mom begged the cops to take this one personally. >> fight this case as if it was your own child. >> absolutely. >> please do. >> shapearl wasn't one to sit around and wait, while detectives worked, she requested courtney's medical records from the hospital. desperate to know all she could about his last moments. grant drove her to pick them up and what she read changed everything. >> by the time i make it back to the car, i'm liking tears, and i'm like they did something to him brent, they did something to him. >> shapearl makes an alarming discovery about the official version of events. coming up -- >> i mediately saw that this was maybe a traffic stop gone wrong and that they are hiding something. >> video from the night of the shooting. what did shapearl see in her

son's final moments? >> we were able to see for our own eyes that what they said about him was a lie. >> when dateline continues. years ago, we used to just fall asleep with a full face of makeup. don't regret, just reverse. no7's new future renew with a world-first peptide technology no other skincare product has. even those that cost 10 times more. reverse visible signs of skin damage in 4 weeks. (fan #1) there ya go! that's what i'm talkin' about! 10 times more. (josh allen) is this your plan to watch the game today? (hero fan) uh, yea. i have to watch my neighbors' nfl sunday ticket. (josh allen) it's not your best plan. but you know what is? myplan from verizon. switch now and they'll give you nfl sunday ticket from youtubetv, on them. (hero fan) this plan is amazing! (josh allen) another amazing plan, backing away from here very slowly. (fan #1) that was josh allen. (fan #2) mmhm. (vo) for a limited time get nfl sunday ticket from youtubetv on us. a $449 value. plus, get a free samsung galaxy s23. it's your verizon

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think, she had just picked up her murdered son's medical records from the hospital, only to spot something she absolutely did not understand. >> he was handcuffed.

that's what the paperwork says. >> handcuffed? shapearl's a husband took her to a restaurant to sit down and look over the papers. >> when i walk into the door, lo and behold, it's the nurse. >> the same one who had comforted you in hospital? >> yes. the same one who had comforted me in the hospital. and i said, i have to ask you a question, was my son handcuffed? >> they had him handcuffed to the bed. >> nurse clarissa hawkins remembers the handcuffs vividly, she says the medical team couldn't immediately transfer courtney to a hospital bed, because he had one arm cuffed to the gurney. >> so we were like, okay, where is the police we need these handcuffs off, about a minute or two went by and the police rushed in and they on handcuffed him. >> why would a shooting victim be handcuffed? >> i was say in my years in practice i have never seen a

gunshot victim handcuffed. so in my opinion, he was treated more like a suspect rather than a patient. >> that's what shapearl thought to, especially when she remembered police asking her at the hospital if courtney owned the bmw he was driving. >> courtney was the owner, she told police, although his name wasn't on the cars registration. he had bad credit so he asked his friend to sign the papers. sounds to me like police are asking about the car because they are wondering whether he stole the car. right? >> yes. you know, i can understand if they read his plates, but none of this mattered, i felt that the concern should not be with the car, it should be about saving his life. >> the official explanation for the police handcuffs can be found in the paramedics report. courtney had been violent, agitated, a danger to others. well why would that be?

there are no drugs in his system, the police review later said traumatic shock made him combative. a spokesman for the paramedics told us courtney was handcuffed for medical reasons and he was not in custody. they are claiming that people who are experiencing trauma sometimes fight because they're frantic. >> handcuffing is not something that is normal, even if the person is violent and agitated. >> we check that with several experts who trained paramedics. they told us that while gunshot victims do sometimes need to be restrained for their own safety, it is unusual for any patient to arrive at an er in handcuffs, unless they are in police custody. >> if it was a white child, would he have been treated the same way? >> two shapearl it seemed police had racially profiled

her son from the start. which led her to another place, what if the police courtney had gone to for help had been the ones who had killed him? >> i immediately thought that this was maybe a traffic stop gone wrong and that they are hiding something. >> that instant suspicion speaks volume about the state of policing in america and the relationship between the chicago cops and the communities they police. safe to say you were already, to some degree, mistrustful of police in chicago before your son was ever shot? >> yes. >> a few months before courtney 's murder, chicago was involved in protests following the release of videos showing a police shooting of a teenager named laquan mcdonald. >> dash cam video showing the officer shooting mcdonald 16 times. >> the officer who shot him was later convicted of second

degree murder. all of that made shapearl wonder if there was video of her sons encounter with police. she had counted at least ten police and private cameras in the neighborhood where courtney had been shot. what had they recorded? police would not let her see the footage. >> and so that heighten my suspicions, again. >> she filed public records request, organize rallies. and enlisted the help of a nonprofit journalism foundation called the invisible institute, 500 days after courtney's murder, shapearl was allowed to view the video police had found of her son's final night. she quickly realized she had been wrong, courtney wasn't shocked by police. you came to believe that police were not involved in the shooting? >> yes. the evidence did not point to them being involved.

>> there was courtney's car zooming down the street, a minute later another camera captured it stopped near a squad car, courtney's voice on a 9-1-1 call. >> chicago emergency -- >> i've been shot. i've been shot. >> the police officer immediately called for help. >> send an ambulance right away. >> and suddenly something else was clear to shapearl, something that made her angry all over again. nowhere on the available video did she see courtney being violent, agitated or a danger to others as is written in the paramedics report. what she did see was her son talking to police, answering their questions. >> victim's male, his name is courtney copeland. he gave me his date of birth. >> we were able to see for our own eyes that what they said about him was a lie. >> and in this moment in the video haunts shapearl. her son raising his arms to the cops who she said treated courtney with suspicion rather than with compassion.

>> could you imagine, looking at a video and your son is reaching up begging them to help him. at that moment i could imagine courtney feeling the life leaving his body. >> more than a year after courtney's murder, his mother did not trust chicago police to solve it. she decided she would do that herself. shapearl wells was just getting started. >> coming up -- >> you understand that in this country there is almost no family of any homicide victim who believes that the police are doing enough. >> but i don't think there are a lot of families that have access to the evidence that i had. >> evidence, shapearl haunts

down more. >> a woman reported that she heard gunshots. >> is the puzzle coming together? when dateline continues. i'm gonna pull over and stretch my legs. i think you were supposed to keep left there. hmm? what is this place? the other side of the rest stop. bundles as far as the eye can see. if you're looking for a first mate, i know a guy. me. i'm the guy. is this oak? [ sniffs ] four types of jerky. this is where i live now. you could save a ton with progressive by bundling your boat or rv with your home and auto. hey, guys! free bags! they're just giving them away!

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with the hour's top stories. the white house has condemned efforts by the military to overthrow its government. saying it puts a brave risk argentinian -- they have stopped short from calling the political upheaval of cool. and it is a weekend of extreme weather across the united states. more than half of the country has faced heat advisories, flood warnings, or watches since thursday. but some parts of the northeast can expect mildly cooler temperatures today. and now, back to dateline. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> welcome back to dateline. i'm craig melville. shapearl wells suspected the detectives were hiding something about her son

courtney's shooting, she says a look at video from that night confirmed those fears. in her eyes, officers had treated courtney like a suspect, despite his pleas for help. now, shapearl was about to team up with a resourceful new ally to launch an investigation of their own. back to josh mankiewicz with the story of somebody. >> one year after a murder, you would expect detectives to know a whole lot about their victim. so how well did chicago police detectives know courtney copeland? you two were among his closest friends, so, i mean, if i were investigating his death, i would be talking to the two you, what was going on in his life? who was he seeing? who didn't like him? the police ask you those questions? >> no. i was never interviewed by any type of detective. >> did they sit you down and ask any of that stuff? >> it's surprising because they should've, you know? >> shapearl had obtained some copies of the police reports, in spite of the reassuring

words about working the case into out it looked as if they had never set up interviews with any of courtney's friends. 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? >> but, i don't think they're a lot of families who have access to the evidence that i had. >> after months investigating her son's case, getting her hands on those reports, recording her interactions with police and walking the neighborhood, shapearl wells had teamed up with anderson flowers the director of investigations at the invisible institute.

alison shared her work with us. >> so one thing that i did was i went through all of his past calls, recent text messages, and tried to just understand in the days leading up to his death what he was up to. and if there was any trouble going on in his life. >> alison did some investigative work that did not seem to be duplicated in the police case files. she went through courtney's phone and build a timeline of his last day. he had chatted with his grandma and gone to a work event. later after that meeting with chris, he had gone home. posting a snapchat outside his house. >> i just have to believe in myself. >> and then he turned around and headed off to sea alma. >> he is texan alma that he is outside, simultaneously talking to another girl on the phone we think, and then he is facebook messaging his friend brandon who had gone a new job. >> 90 seconds later his bmw's racing towards the police station less than a mile away. >> i've been shot! >> so where exactly did the

shooting happen? >> i mean it is the most basic of facts to know where courtney was shot. >> we've got broken glass at belden and long. >> alison tracked down police dispatch tapes and heard how an officer had found broken glass after the shooting, around the corner from alma's apartment. maybe glass from courtney's car window. alison knew from an old parking tickets the spot was close to where courtney parked when he went to visit alma. >> there was also a woman who lived on the corner at the time who spoke to one of courtney's friends and she reported that she heard gunshots. so we do have several data points telling us where this likely occurred. >> a few hundred feet from alma 's apartment, so who would've wanted him dead? could courtenay possibly have been involved in something illegal? >> no. >> he was straight. >> not at all. >> he was too scared for that.

the only trouble that he would get in was with women. that is all. >> women were his weak spot? >> yes. >> so he was going through chicago like the fire? >> i would say more than chicago, yes. >> it was kind of international. >> chicago was his headquarter. >> because courtney an all no work together they kept their romance under wraps, jessica knew about it and worried. alma had confided in her that her ex boyfriend was possessive and jealous. and on courtney's phone, alison read something about another of almost exes. >> she had indicated to him that a few days prior one of her axes had left jail or prison in a different state and that was of some concern to her. >> hadn't shapearl asked detectives about whether alma had some crazy ex-boyfriends?

yes she had. there was a handwritten note in the police documents about one of almost boyfriends who didn't like courtney. however, there was no sign anyone had followed up on that. so alison decided she would. it was time to talk with alma. >> turns out alma has crucial details about the night of the murder. coming up -- >> when you heard the shots did you think oh, that could be courtney? >> it didn't cross my mind. >> a new clue from alma, had she shared it with police? >> they said that they were gonna call me and after that i never heard from them. >> i didn't understand -- i mean, this is normal detective work. >> when dateline continues. your dog from fleas and ticks with nexgard chews. the protection that's #1 with dogs. use with caution in dogs with a history of seizures or neurologic disorders. for a limited time, get up to a 2-month rebate when you buy 12 doses of both nexgard chews and heartgard plus chews

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dateline, you know detectives usually talk extensively with the victims partner or significant other. probably more than once. police had briefly spoken with alma, courtney's girlfriend the night of the shooting. after that, there was no indication in case reports that detectives had gone back to alma, and it didn't look as if they had followed up on a tip about her jealous ex. >> i didn't understand why they didn't do a thorough examination of alma. i mean, this is normal detective work. >> so shapearl and allison went

to interview her, recording that conversation. >> your alma? >> yes. >> hi, i'm alison. >> alma repeated what she told police, courtney had texted her he was outside but she never saw him. she texted back to see if he was okay and then without an answer she had gone to sleep. >> what did you think happened at that point in time? >> i mean, i was a little bit worried but it's not unlike him to change plans quickly. >> almost that police had never asked her if she had seen or heard anything that night. >> they just gave me their business card and they said that they were going to call me to speak with me and after that i never heard from them. >> they never questioned her about her ex boyfriend's, so alison did. alma told her yes she had an ex who didn't like courtney, but he was no murderer.

>> you didn't feel like he could be involved in this in some way? >> no. >> and if police had interviewed alma she might have told them that she heard two gunshots that night. >> when you heard the shots, did you think oh, that could be courtney? or did not even crossed your mind? >> it didn't cross my mind because around that time there was just a lot of things going on in the neighborhood. so we had heard gunshots before. >> allison tracked down another witness who had heard gunshots around the same time. and she showed us that location was just a few blocks from almost apartment. >> she is parking by the high school. >> the woman named elena also saw a car speeding down an alley and thought it might be connected. she called 9-1-1. >> right now through the alley there were two gangsters. >> okay i'll sentiment over there to check it out. >> a month later detectives investigating courtney's case

went to interview elena. she told them her husband edgar had also seen the car and its passengers. >> but police did an interview him even though she told detectives that he had been right there in the alley when the car was passing through. >> and yet seen these guys? >> he had seen the guys, in fact he had the best look at the guys because the window was down that alley is narrow. so he had front row seat to who was in that car. >> and here is where some of the puzzle pieces seem to start coming together. the make of the car edgar saw? a grand markey, the same type of court that facebook tipster told shapearl about, the plates both men saw even seem to match. and this, alison spotted what looks like a grand marquee in some of the video. here it is, around the time of the shooting, near the intersection where courtney was killed. remember, the tipster said he had seen that man in the car ditching a handgun.

and he had called 9-1-1. >> it appears that they threw a gun under the car. >> in response to that call, police arrested two guys that night, they were known gang members and charged with parole violations, but there's nothing to suggest detectives investigated them in connection with courtney's murder. >> it's almost like a willful, a woefulness to not known. >> i saw story last night that said the 37 people were shot this weekend in chicago, five of them were killed, should we be surprised that police don't do all hands on deck for every single murder? because they seem like -- these guy seemed like maybe they were numb to it. >> maybe they're numb to it but it also begs the question what are they here for? they're not preventing crimes and there are not solving them either. >> it all pointed to a troubling hypothesis. >> there is an institutional indifference to solving cases when it comes to people of

color. >> this man says the numbers tell a story. >> coming up -- >> so the best way to get away with murder in america's is to kill a black victims? >> your odds are better than if you kill a victim of any other race. >> shapearl challenges the police. >> ya'll only have a 26% murder solve rate. >> yeah, you know, it's the community that is failing here. >> when dateline continues. behind those itchy eyes. up to 50% of people with graves' could develop a different condition called thyroid eye disease, which should be treated by a different doctor. see an expert. find a t-e-d eye specialist at isitted.com shingles. some describe it as an intense burning sensation

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welcome back. >> welcome back. the police investigation into courtney copeland's murder the police investigation into courtney copeland's murder had stalled, but his mother shapearl's did not. she and her allies discovered two known gangsters were seen fleeing the area moments after courtney was shot. another witness saw them ditch a handgun. so why hadn't they've been questioned about courtney shooting? shapearl wanted answers from chicago police. and she was not the only one. here is josh mankiewicz with the conclusion of the story of somebody. >> exactly two years after his murder, a mother deliberately drove the road her son had taken the last moments of his nights. >> i wanted to see what my son was seeing, his point of view, what he was thinking. >> just after 1:15 am, shapearl wells pulled her sons bmw to a stop on the same asphalt where he had flagged down police. >> did you feel better when it was over? >> no.

i didn't feel better, but i was like courtney, mommies here. mommy is here. you are not alone. >> and shapearl new, she wasn't alone either. in 2016 the year courtney was killed, there were 778 murders in chicago. that same year police solved or in their words cleared 56% of murders involving white victims, for black murder victims, the solve rate was just 26%. tom's hard grove is the founder of the murder accountability project, a nonprofit that has collected and analyzed for decades of homicide reports, nationwide. his data is used by numerous police departments around the country. he says racial disparity when it comes to solving murders is not just a chicago problem. >> in 2019, the most recent year for which we have data, caucasian murders were cleared out rate of 81%, that is the best it has ever been for white murders. but for african americans it has been in the 50s lately. >> he says that that is true all over the country, in cities big and small. communities urban or rule. solve rates for black murder victims are lower than for any other racial group.

and they are continuing to drop. so the best way to get away with murder in america is to kill a black victim? >> if you generally kill a black victim your odds are better than if you kill a victim of any of the race. that is simply what the data shows. >> too simple to say that -- they are prioritizing murders in which the victims are white? >> i would not believe that, i really wouldn't. i don't think it is a general racism among detectives but i do think that there are factors that take solubility out of their hands. >> statistically murders involving black victims are more likely to be committed by strangers or by gangs. those cases are harder to solve. he says that overloaded homicide detectives need more manpower and more training. that takes more money and if race plays a role it is in how and where police dollars get spent. >> unfortunately and integrate many places in sufficient resources are being applied because of the political decision on how much effort shall be made in these kinds of crimes. >> without those resources he

says murders will go unsolved and the result is a devastating spiral. if the cops aren't solving murders, potential witnesses don't feel safe enough to speak up and killings continue. >> murder begets murder, especially unsolved murder. >> you had tremendous success closing homicides at a rate, i think, better than the national average. what is the secret? >> one thing actually believe that helped in our success is that we had relationships in communities in which we worked. >> dr. cedric alexander was chief of police at the county in georgia. and later became a law enforcement analyst for nbc news. he said solving murders has to involve cooperation between police and citizens. what's needed is the kind of connection that seem to be missing in courtney's case. >> anytime that you have a body dropping, nothing is going to

be more important than that eyewitness account or someone who saw something or heard something. >> and for people who want to talk to you that requires a certain level of trust between the community in the department? >> number one. you have to have trust. >> ten months after courtney's murder, a department of justice investigation concluded, community trust in the chicago police department was broken. and urged police to fix it saying increasing community trust and confidence in cpb is necessary for cpd to be able to clear up more homicides. the cpd's motto is we serve and protect, and your after courtney's murder, shapearl saw a department that had unprotected courtney, or served her. she went to meet with the cpd again and once again she was recording.

by this time her relationship with detectives had deteriorated. and she challenged them on their record. >> you only have a 26% murder solve rate in the city of chicago. >> you know people can talk about the police department as far as that goes, but it's the community that's failing here. >> the sergeant said his detectives had been working courtney's case hard. >> somebody knows what happened here and they're not coming forward. i mean, we get spit on, we get kicked that, we get punched. you know people refer to us as pigs. you know all this short of [ bleep ]. and we are looking for help from the community to help your son who's a good kid and nobody will want to come forward. >> to shapearl that sound like an excuse, what about the

potential witness who had called 9-1-1 that night? and when we last spoke with courtney's girlfriend, all, much you told us that detectives still hadn't spoken with her. >> they did the bare minimum, the bare minimum is what chicago police department did in my son's case. >> the chicago police department declined to discuss courtney's murder with us saying that it is still an open case, an internal affairs investigation of how they treated courtney at the scene concluded officers had done nothing wrong. in a 2021 email, the department said all cases are investigated thoroughly. which is pretty much what they said to shapearl in the first meeting with detectives. the cpd also said their murder clearance rates were improving, but did not address the racial disparity we asked about.

they did tell us about a organization involving new homicide teams supported by gang units and better technology. and they pointed to an investment in neighborhood policing. but chicago's police superintendent david brown announced in june 2021. >> arguably this will be the most significant commitment of effort, resources and leadership to building trust in chicago pd's history. >> chicago's inspector general looked into the police handling of courtney's case. but provided no comment when we asked about their investigation. continues shapearl to look for answers. her way. >> my name is shapearl wells, i'm courtney copeland's mom. >> you are listening to true crime podcast before that, and suddenly you became a true crime podcast? >> yes. >> shapearl now hosts a podcast about her son's case called somebody, produced by topic studios the intersect and the invisible institute. she wants to tell the story of what happened and what did not.

>> i'm going to take you with me, step-by-step in my investigation. >> the podcast was a finalist for the pulitzer prize, but shapearl is not sure the people she really wants to hear her are listening. >> i have no faith in chicago police department that they will solve my son's murder. >> so your mission is not over? >> no. i will keep fighting for courtney until my last breath, until they bring me a convicted murderer. >> you know that won't even the scales. >> no. but i feel like my son deserves justice. >> that's all for this edition

of dateline, i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. >> hello everyone, i'm michael steele, in for alicia menendez, tonight, new cracks in trump's facade, polling shows there are republicans out there worried about trump's alleged crimes, are they worried enough to back someone else? plus, after being accused of obstruction of justice, donald trump says no problem connecting himself to richard nixon, the story michael beschloss attacks for us. plus, those seeking to avoid a government shutdown, as far right house republicans put baby in a corner, threatening speaker mccartney with another mutiny. also tonig