Natalia Chi
As law enforcement officials continue to investigate a shooting involving a police officer Sunday morning in Aurora, Mayor Richard Irvin urged people to wait for the results of the investigation before making any judgments on the incident.
Irvin spoke at the city council on Tuesday in response to an incident in which an Aurora man was shot and critically injured by an Aurora police officer after he armed himself with a knife and assaulted an Aurora police officer outside his home. .
Police responded to the home after a family called 911 to report another family armed with multiple knives and threatening people inside the home, officials said.
Aurora Police Chief Keith Cross said officers saw a man with multiple knives in the doorway of a house and threatened to kill them all.
Cross said the officers tried to verbally de-escalate the situation and repeatedly ordered the man to drop his weapon. According to police, the man then turned his attention to police officers and threatened to kill them.
The man left the house and got into a fight with officers in the garage, officials said. Police said the man, still armed with a knife, opened fire on the officer, who shot him. Police did not say how many times the man was shot as the investigation is ongoing.
The investigation into the incident has been turned over to the Kane County Serious Crimes Commission in accordance with Illinois law. Task Forces are made up of officers from various county police agencies and act as an independent investigative agency.
Aurora Police said the Kane County state attorney’s office is deciding whether to file criminal charges against the man who was shot. Police said.
Police also said they are working with task forces to determine when to release officers’ body camera footage of the incident.
Police on Monday said they were unable to answer some questions as the case was still under investigation.
At the city council meeting on Tuesday, Irvin called the incident “a horrific tragedy on all fronts.”
“Our hearts are with the young man and his family and we continue to pray for his and the young man’s recovery,” said Irvine, adding that he personally knew the family members involved.
“Our hearts go out to all the officers responding on the ground, especially those who are placed in very dangerous situations and have to make the very difficult choice of using lethal force in an ever-escalating situation. I feel sorry for the police who didn’t,” Ervin said.
Cross said officers used de-escalation tactics during the incident, but did not specify what tactics were used.
Irvin said he had seen body camera footage and said the officer tried to defuse the situation while the man threatened to harm and kill the officer.
“It was deemed necessary to protect the officers on the scene and others in the area, including the family of the young man who first called police to the scene,” Irvin said.
Cross said there were no mental health professionals on site during the incident. Since 2020, the department has used a “joint response method” with social workers to assist individuals in mental health crises who may put themselves or others at risk, according to the department’s website. doing.
At a press conference on Monday, Cross said police would first send two officers if someone called and said there was a mental health issue going on in the house.
“We would like to have the crisis intervention team available if possible, but that is not always possible,” says Cross. “We are manning certain areas of town and we need to look at our resources to see if we can man out. But it wasn’t a phone call. It was intended for those who were inside the residence armed with
Irvin said he knew mental health issues were prevalent in the Aurora community, but the family called 911 about domestic violence and said, “Those facts were not provided in the first 911 call. It wasn’t done,” he said.
“I’m sure many people in the community have compelling questions that need answers, especially when the answers are life-or-death,” says Irvin. “All of these questions will be answered upon completion of the survey.”
mejones@chicagotribun.com
