The Appellate Prosecutor’s office recommended earlier this month that a Macomb officer should not face criminal charges in the fatal shooting of two people more than four months ago.
Anthony George, 57, and Terrell Miller, 4, were killed by single shot as police responded to a violent domestic dispute in the 900 block of North Charles Street on March 16.
But a lawyer for the child’s mother is asking for the Appellate decision to be reviewed and plans to take civil action against the Macomb Police Department.
“We intend to hold the Macomb Police Department accountable for or Terrell’s tragic death,” said Marleen Menendez Suarez of Fairmont City at a press conference Monday outside the Macomb Police Department.
‘A ball of light’
The press conference followed a protest in Chandler Park calling for justice for Terrell, whose family said loved Spiderman and was full of life.
“He was a ball of light. He didn’t care what color you were, he wanted to make sure he put a smile on your face. He talked to everybody,” said Keianna Miller, Terrell’s mother. “He smiled every day, he was literally an angel. He was our angel, he was literally this world’s angel.”
Grandmother Karen Miller said Terrell enjoyed every day of his life.
“You could just see the joy,” she said. “I don’t think there was one time I saw my grandbaby where he had a frown on his face. He’s always been a bundle of joy and his spirit just full of life.”
Terrell would have turned five years old on July 18. According to the Washington Post’s police shootings database, he is the youngest child to be fatally shot by police in Illinois since at least 2015, when the newspaper started compiling the data. Nationally, he is the second youngest since 2015.
Keianna said she was grateful for community support and encouraged people to protest peacefully. She also drew parallels to another recent shooting of a Black person in their home by a white police officer.
“Do it for us, do it for Terrell, do it for Sonya Massey. But don’t ever do a protest and start to burn down nothing. Chaos is not the answer,” she said.
Massey was shot and killed by Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson in her Springfield home on July 6. He was charged with her murder a couple weeks later.
Keianna said the families knew each other before the shootings. They were not related as speculated on social media, but were good friends.
“I know her whole family. We’ve been knowing each other for some years,” she said.
Better protocols
Macomb police are still conducting an internal review to determine protocol changes or disciplinary actions for officers.
Keianna said she’s asking for better protocols and training for police -- and she’s frustrated by how long it took to get information about her son’s death.
The Appellate Prosecutor’s letter saying there was no basis for criminal charges was dated July 8, following an investigation by Illinois State Police. The information was released by local authorities on July 23.
“We’ve been calling and calling for what was the officer’s name. And it took them four months to say or do anything,” Keianna said. “It’s just so ironic how they did it right after the video of Sonya Massey came out and then you want to throw out there, oh we’re not charging the officer.”
The night of March 16
Police responded just after 10 p.m. on March 16 to a domestic violence report. Neighbors had heard screaming and called police.
Suarez said George entered the apartment where Keianna and Terrell lived and attacked Keianna, stabbing her multiple times.
Suarez has seen the full body-worn camera footage. Hours after her press conference, the Macomb Police Department released a redacted version of it.
With additional context provided by Police Chief Jeff Hamer, the video shows officers arriving at the apartment complex a few minutes after the call and being directed to an upstairs apartment.
The officer identified as the shooter knocks on the door and identifies himself as from the Macomb Police Department. After hearing screaming inside the apartment, the officer kicks down the door and pulls his gun.
George was at the end of a hallway, around 20 feet away. Officers then got Keianna out of the apartment as she told them her son was still inside.
Then George reached into the bedroom and grabbed Terrell as the officer approached them. Suarez described what happened next.
“He walks out with Terrell with two knifes on him, one near his throat, one near his stomach,” she said. “The shooter shot one shot, that went through the top of Terrell’s head, into the assailant’s neck, and killed them both.”
Suarez said only 16 seconds passed from when the officer kicked down the door to when he fired the shot. She noted there was no de-escalation or negotiation with George after he pulled the child from the bedroom and before the officer fired.
“In fact, when the assailant stepped back into the hallway holding Terrell, I think it was probably only two brief seconds before the shooter shot,” Suarez said.
Suarez and Keianna Miller believe the officer acted recklessly and not within standard guidelines for use of deadly force.
Suarez said she doesn’t think the officer should be charged with murder like Sean Grayson in the death of Sonya Massey, but a lesser charge.
In addition to asking authorities to re-evaluate the decision not to charge the officer with anything, Suarez said she’ll be pursuing civil remedies.
Others at the protest and press conference carried signs and shouted for the officer to be fired.
Two officers including the shooter remain on paid administrative leave as the police department completes the internal investigation.
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