LA SALLE, Ill. (WMBD) — A man was shot and killed Sunday by police officers after he repeatedly left a house and pointed a gun at them.
The La Salle and Peru police departments were called at 1:27 p.m. to the 600 block of Chartres Street to reports of a suicidal man with a gun, said La Salle Police Chief Mike Smudzinski.
When officers arrived, the man had walked outside and fired in the air before going back into the building, Officers then set up a perimeter around the building, had the power company turn the power off, and cleared people out of nearby buildings, he said.
Smudzinsi said police learned the man had allegedly been involved in a crash where a car struck a building earlier in the day.
“Trained personnel made contact with the subject, focusing on trying to de-escalate the situation for more than an hour and a half. During this time, the subject repeatedly exited the building with the firearm and displayed it in a manner threatening public safety. At one point, the subject fired the gun out of the window toward uniformed officers,” the chief said.
At 4 p.m. Saturday, about 2 1/2 hours after police arrived, the man left the building and pointed his handgun at an officer who then shot him, the chief said.
Paramedics began treatment on the man, but he was pronounced dead at the scene, Smudzinski said.
No other injuries were reported in the incident.
The chief said the matter is now in the hands of the Illinois State Police, which is required by law, to investigate all officer-involved shootings to avoid any sense of bias or conflict.
The state police will conduct their investigation and when it’s done, turn over their findings to the La Salle County State’s Attorney, who will make a final decision on whether the incident was within the bounds of police protocols.
Under Illinois law, police are allowed to use deadly force if an officer “reasonably believes, based on the totality of the circumstances, that such force is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or another.”
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