Officer in Ill. fired following fatal shooting
CHICAGO – An Illinois officer who had been placed on leave after shooting two people in a car Tuesday night, fatally injuring one, has been fired by the Waukegan Police Department.
The officer, who was not identified, was a five-year member of the department and is Hispanic. He was terminated Friday night “for multiple policy and procedure violations,” Department Commander Edgar Navarro said in a statement.
Marcellis Stinnette, 19, was killed, and his girlfriend, Tafara Williams, 20, was injured after the officer shot into a car that allegedly backed up toward him.
On Friday, attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio M. Romanucci – who represent the families of George Floyd, Daniel Prude, Byron Williams and others – said they had been retained to represent Tafara Williams. Williams has serious injuries but is expected to recover.
“Ms. Williams’ legal team will begin our own investigation into what happened during that incident, because we do not trust the police narrative in this case. We have seen over and over that the ‘official’ report when police kill Black people is far too often missing or misrepresenting details,” Crump said in a statement. “We will share our findings with the public when we have uncovered the truth.”
The incident happened just before midnight Tuesday, when an officer approached a “suspicious” vehicle, Navarro told reporters Wednesday. As the officer was conducting his investigation, the vehicle fled and was spotted moments later by another officer, who got out of his car to approach the vehicle, Navarro said.
“That officer exited his vehicle, and the vehicle that he was investigating began to reverse towards the officer. The officer then pulled out his duty weapon and fired into the vehicle,” Navarro said.
The initial police report said the officer was “in fear for his safety.”
His shots struck both Stinnette, who was in the passenger seat, and Williams, who was in the driver’s seat. Stinnette died at a hospital. No firearms were found in the vehicle, Navarro said. He did not elaborate on why the vehicle was initially stopped.
Both officers involved were placed on leave. Neither has been identified.
The families of Stinnette and Williams, who are Black, have questioned the department’s account. Cliftina Johnson, Williams’ mother, said she visited her daughter in the hospital, where she was in serious condition. Her daughter is a mother of two.
Illinois State Police’s Public Integrity Task Force was investigating, and the Waukegan Police Department had turned over all reports, body cam and dashcam videos, Navarro said.
Lake County State’s Attorney Michael Nerheim said Wednesday he would review the state police investigation and make the “entire case file” available to the public once complete.
Contributing:associated Press