This morning, Aurora Chief of Police Keith Cross released bodycam tapes of an incident wherein an APD office shot and wounded a man allegedly charging him while brandishing knives.
The wounded man has been charged with multiple felonies, while the shooting remains under investigation by the Kane County State’s Attorney and the Kane County Major Crime Task Force.
Here is Chief Cross’ release in its entirety.
According to a press release from Mosser’s office late last week, the suspect had been involved in a quarrel with his girlfriend and had blocked her path from leaving the room. Her infant son was in her arms at the time.
According to the release, the officers’ body-worn cameras show the following:
- The subject was agitated, immediately confrontational with officers and was armed with a large knife.
- Officers spoke to him through a glass screen door and repeatedly ordered him to drop the knife.
- He yelled at the officers that he was going to stab them and that they were going to “die today.”
- He continued to yell at the officers and disobey their commands.
- At some point while still at the front door, he grabbed a second large knife.
- Both knives appeared to have blades approximately eight inches in length.
- Hde shut the front door as other officers were assisting the others in the house to exit through the attached garage.
- The two officers then retreated to the driveway, where they were joined by other officers who had arrived on the scene.
- He exited the home through a door between the house and the garage. The overhead garage door to the outside was open.
- While in the garage, he continued to yell at officers while armed with the two large knives.
- Officers continually ordered him to drop the knives as he was in the garage, but he refused to comply.
- He took an aggressive stance at the threshold of the garage door, and yelled that he was going to show the officers how fast he is. At this point, several of the officers were approximately 20 to 25 feet away from him.
- Based on his refusal to drop the knives, an officer fired non-lethal pepper-ball rounds at him in an attempt to gain compliance.
- He turned away from the rounds and then immediately turned toward the officers.
- He, while still armed with both knives, charged toward officers, who were standing close to one another in the driveway.
- As the suspect, still holding a large knife in each hand, charged the officers, an officer quickly transitioned from the pepper-ball gun to his service weapon. While he was charging him, having closed the distance between himself and the officers to approximately five feet, the officer discharged his service weapon at him.
- He was struck by gunfire and fell to the ground.
It was then discovered that the suspect had a third knife hidden in his pant leg and shoe area.
