Even though a state investigator said no charges should be filed in a fatal police shooting in Macomb, the police department is moving ahead with its own investigation.
Chief Jeff Hamer said the department’s policy requires an internal review.
“We have a deadly force review policy. That’s to make sure that there’s no failures of policy, failures of training, or anything like that,” said Hamer.
He said the internal review could result in changes in policy or training, and depending on the findings, the officers involved could be disciplined or fired.
Both officers involved in the case remain on leave. The chief declined to release their names until the internal investigation is finished.
Hamer said he has reviewed audio and video of the shooting several times. He declined to go into details right now.
“What I do intend to do is – as soon as I can – release some video and the results of the internal (review), although I don’t want to prescribe a timeline to this,” Hamer said. “I’ve been working on this since March and trying to be time-efficient in working on it as much as I can.”
He said he still does not have the full investigative packet from Illinois State Police, though the state’s attorney’s office is in the process of getting that to him.
Terrell Miller, 4, and Anthony George, 57, died in the shooting, which happened after police responded to a domestic violence call at around 10 p.m. on Saturday, March 16.
When police arrived, they found a woman suffering from multiple stab wounds.
George was armed with a knife. He refused to comply with several commands to drop the weapon.
George was holding Miller, with a knife to the boy’s throat, when an officer fired a single shot, killing both.
The officer is white. Both Miller and George were Black.
Hamer believes the Macomb case is different than a recent officer-involved shooting in Sangamon County, where a white sheriff’s deputy shot and killed an unarmed Black woman in her home.
“There was actions on the part of people there (in Macomb) that warranted use of force. I don’t think the Sangamon County (case) had any actions warranting use of force,” Hamer said, adding he has seen the video of that shooting.
Hamer said he appreciates that the McDonough County State’s Attorney’s Office reviewed the case and brought in an independent investigator from the Illinois State’s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor’s Office.
“I feel having a third party, disconnected attorney’s office review the case was important to the integrity of the case,” he said.
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