Aurora police release video of man with knives being shot by officers
CHICAGO (CBS) – Aurora police released portions of the 911 call and body camera footage of the police shooting of a 21-year-old man armed with knives on Feb. 5.
The incident started with an argument between the man and his girlfriend that got out of control and brought on a "mental health episode," according to a family member. The family called 9-1-1.
The caller told the dispatcher "I have young people fighting and older people trying to stop them," according to the recording police released.
"It's getting violent, and before the violence happens, I need somebody to remove them," the caller said, who appeared to identify the man in the altercation as a grandson.
The 21-year-old man lives at a home near Colorado Avenue and Elmwood Drive with his grandmother, his girlfriend, and their baby.
At one point during the recording, shouting can be heard in the background and the caller can be heard saying "He's got a knife." Later the caller said he had three knives.
The police body camera footage began with officers walking up to the house around 10:40 a.m. and the man confronting them behind a closed screen door. He appeared to be holding a knife in his hand and later held two, one in each hand.
Officers told the man to drop the knives multiple times.
"Put the knife down now," said one officer.
The dispatcher and officers told the other family members to get out of the house.
The man also threatened to harm the officers as he stood behind the screen door and tapped one of the knives on the glass.
At one point, the man closed the front door. The officers then walked over to the other family members who were standing in a driveway. One of the other family members went back into the house to retrieve a dog.
Around that time, other officers arrived on the scene with what police called "less lethal" weapons.
The man then entered the garage, still armed with the knives. Officers again told the man to drop the knives.
An officer then shot the man with what police called "pepper ball projectiles," hitting him. The man then charged at police who shot him with their guns multiple times. The man fell to the ground on the driveway.
The officers handcuffed the man and found a third knife inside one of the man's shoes.
The other family members could be heard reacting to the shooting when one asked "Why would you guys shoot him?"
"Because he attacked us with a knife," one officer responded.
The officers also began rendering aid to the man.
Police said the Aurora Fire Department paramedics arrived about 3 minutes after being requested to the scene to take the man to a hospital.
The man's relatives said he was struck in the chest, leg, stomach and eye. He was taken to AMITA Health Mercy Hospital where he underwent surgery and survived.
Cheryl Dorsey, a former sergeant with the Los Angeles Police Department, told CBS 2 that from the very beginning of the police response captured on body camera, the officers followed policy and procedure.
"The officers did everything they could in this instance and unfortunately, sometimes, deadly force is something we are required to use," Dorsey said.
She added, "The officers acted appropriately, professionally, ethically, compassionately, reasonably, and I'm sure there will be some that will still find fault."
Dorsey pointed out and emphasized the number of de-escalation attempts responding officers made from the time they got there, to the use of non-deadly force.
"They used less-than-lethal [force] to no effect," she said. "The suspect was struck, turned around and looked in the officers' direction and immediately charged. And in what seemed like two to three seconds, he was right on the officers and had they not used deadly force, it's quite possible he could've fatally injured one of those officers."
Last week, police charged the man with two counts of attempted murder, unlawful restraint, aggravated assault of a peace officer, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Aurora police turned over the investigation into the shooting to the Kane County Major Crimes Task Force. All the officers who responded to the scene were placed on administrative leave while the investigation was underway.
Warning: The following video contains graphic footage.
