No charges filed in killing of security guard

Prosecutors won’t bring case against Midlothian officer who shot Jemel Roberson in 2018

Cook County prosecutors won’t bring charges against a Midlothian police officer who shot and killed security guard Jemel Roberson during a chaotic 2018 confrontation outside a Robbins nightclub, the state’s attorney’s office announced Friday.

Roberson was shot by Midlothian police Officer Ian Covey in November 2018 as Roberson tried to hold a man suspected of firing into a crowd at the bar where Roberson was working as a security guard. Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said her office has “concluded that the totality of the evidence is insufficient to support criminal charges against” Covey.

“While this conclusion may not be the result that many have hoped for, I can assure you that this investigation was conducted with the highest level of scrutiny by prosecutors in my office’s Law Enforcement Accountability Division and the Illinois State Police Public Integrity Task Force,” Foxx said in a release.

Family and friends of Roberson called Friday afternoon for a change in laws that make it difficult for authorities to charge police officers in shootings that may have been unjustified, and said they will continue to fight for charges to be brought against Covey.

Roberson’s mother, Beatrice Roberson, said the decision from the state’s attorney’s office “devastated” her. She was flanked by supporters wearing shirts that said, “Security. Don’t Shoot” and “Black Lives Matter” along with her son’s name.

“Kim Foxx and her office has let my family down,” she said, speaking to reporters outside Three Crosses of Calvary M.B. Church on the city’s West Side.

Attorneys working with the family said Foxx was in a tough spot, given current laws, but they also plan to review case materials themselves and continue investigating in the hope that charges can be brought later.

“It was a difficult decision for (Foxx). We are disappointed. The family is devastated,” said attorney Andrew Stroth. “I think the focus has got to be on how do we change the laws moving forward so there are not additional Jemel Robersons.”

Stroth said Foxx turned the case file over to the family, and left the door “wide-open” for charges in the future. The attorneys are working with an investigative group to review the material. He noted that state law does not put a statute of limitations on murder if their review were to turn up new evidence.

Still, supporters of the family were critical of Foxx’s decision, even as they acknowledged that she faced an uphill battle charging and convicting a police officer.

“No one was willing to take the risk for Jemel Roberson. (Foxx) could have made the decision to file charges and let a grandjury or a court make a decision,” said Pastor Le Aundre Hill, who ministers to the family. “She was not willing to take the risk.”

A statement released by an attorney for the village of Midlothian said officials are reviewing the state’s attorney’s findings and have not made a decision about the “status of Officer Covey.”

“The village would like to again extend our condolences to the Roberson family. We are aware that Jemel’s family and friends are still hurting today,” the statement said.

The Illinois State Police Public Integrity Task Force has been investigating Roberson’s killing, but Foxx’s office said the state’s attorney “is the agency responsible

for making criminal charging decisions” in Cook County.

The state’s attorney’s office said its investigators interviewed more than 100 witnesses and evaluated “physical evidence and information surrounding the events.” The investigation was reviewed by the office of the Illinois state’s attorney appellate prosecutor, which “agreed … that no criminal charges are appropriate” against the officer, according to the office’s release.

“I am acutely aware in this age of civil unrest that police-involved shootings are viewed under a microscope, as they very well should be,” Foxx said. “The death of Jemel Roberson is tragically heartbreaking, and while it might feel to some people like justicewas not served here, I have both an ethical and legal obligation to make charging decisions based on the law and the evidence.”

Midlothian police Chief Daniel Delaney and Covey did not return messages requesting comment Friday.

Roberson, 26, had been working security at Manny’s Blue Room Lounge in Robbins on Nov. 11 when a fight broke out between two groups of men inside the bar.

Shots were fired and four people were struck, including a man suspected of being the gunman.

In the chaos, Roberson managed to detain a man witnesses identified as a shooter and was holding him on the ground at gunpoint when Covey arrived armed with an AR-15 rifle.

Covey ordered Roberson to drop the gun and fired on him when he didn’t comply, according to state police.

Witnesses said the officer did not give Roberson adequate time to respond to his verbal commands and ignored their warnings that Roberson was a security guard, not a suspect.

An autopsy found Roberson was shot four times in the back and side.

In July, a man suspected of firing into the bar, setting off the chain of events that culminated in Roberson’s death, was shot to death in Chicago.

The officer, who joined the department in 2015, has remained on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation by state police and county prosecutors.

This summer, Roberson’s family’s hopes were buoyed by the possibility of a federal investigation into his killing.