Illinois State Police Troopers cleared of charges after Rockford man's in-custody death
The Illinois State Police officers involved in the in-custody death of Rockford man Lamar Bell will not face any charges.
The Winnebago County State's Attorney's Office cleared the officers of any charges on Monday, according to a news release/
The 33-year-old Bell died in July after being pulled over by an Illinois State Police Squad car near the intersection of 10th Avenue and Kishwaukee Street in Rockford.
More: Illinois State Police exempt from state's in-custody death rule
Body camera footage from the arrest showed Illinois State Police officers searching Bell's vehicle and finding bags of cocaine inside of toilet paper rolls.
While handcuffed and sitting inside of a squad car, officers read Bell his Miranda rights and ask him about bags Bell was sitting on inside of his car.
"What baggies?" Bell asks before acknowledging the baggies found inside the vehicle.
"What substance was inside the baggies?" an officer asks Bell.
Bell responds "cocaine."
That exchange was later backed up by the autopsy report which said Bell died from "adverse effects of cocaine."
According to the state's attorney's office, open clear plastic baggies and baggies containing cocaine were located in Bell's stomach and throat. Specifically, Bell's stomach contained 40 baggies containing suspected cocaine (nearly 17 grams worth), according to the state's attorney's office. Two baggies containing cocaine and five knotted pieces of plastic bags were found in Bell's throat as well, the autopsy revealed.
A toxicology report found cocaine, benzoylecgonine (cocaine degradation product), delta-9 carboxy THC, amphetamine, methamphetamine, MDMA, MDA, midazolam and delta-9 THC in Bell's system at the time of his death.
The state's attorney's office said the trooper's involved in the arrest, Master Sergeant Michael Steele and Trooper Daniel Monaco, could've been charged with involuntary manslaughter and/or failure to render aid/official misconduct.
The state's attorney's office said the officers present "met their duty to render medical aid and assistance" to Bell once he started having a medical episode while being handcuffed before being taken to the hospital where he later died.
The Illinois State Police Division of Internal Investigation conducted the investigation into Bell's death.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: No charges filed against officers in Rockford man Lamar Bell's death
