Macomb officer not charged in 'tragic' shooting death of man and 4-year-old in Illinois
The Macomb police officer who shot and killed a 57-year-old man and a 4-year-old child while responding to a domestic dispute in March will not face charges.
McDonough County State's Attorney Matt Kwacala said Tuesday that a special prosecutor from the Illinois State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor's Office found that there was no basis for criminal charges against any of the law enforcement officers who responded to the scene.
Police in Macomb responded to a loud disturbance around 10 p.m. March 16 at an apartment in the 900 block of North Charles Street. When they arrived at the scene of the domestic dispute, they saw blood in a common area and heard screams coming from one of the apartments. After entering the apartment, they found a 36-year-old woman with multiple stab wounds. A man, later identified as Anthony T. George, was brandishing a knife.
He refused to comply with requests to drop the weapon, according to authorities, and left the room and returned holding a knife to the throat of the woman's 4-year-old son. The Macomb police officer discharged his weapon and killed George and the boy, later identified as Terrell Miller.
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Kwacala said that Macomb police immediately contacted Illinois State Police to investigate the shooting. ISP collected evidence, interviewed witnesses and observed body camera footage – which has not been released to the public at this time. The special prosecutor, Jonathan H. Barnard, reviewed statutes, case law and use-of-force protocols.
"Based upon that review, I find that there is no basis for any criminal action or prosecution that is supportable under the facts of this case against any of the officers involved in this tragic incident," Barnard said in a letter to Kwacala dated on July 8.
Kwacala said his office largely deals with cases brought by the Macomb Police Department. While he doesn't represent the city, he wanted an independent prosecutor to conduct a formal review to remove the appearance of a conflict of interest.
"My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the deceased and all others affected by this heart-breaking event," Kwacala said in a statement.
The decision to not charge the officer comes after prosecutors in Sangamon County recently charged a sheriff's deputy with three counts of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Sonya Massey on July 6. The decision to charge the officer came 11 days after the incident, which stemmed from a report of an intruder in Massey's home outside Springfield.
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This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Illinois prosecutor: No charges in 'heartbreaking' deaths of boy, man
