Crime & Safety

UPDATE: DuPage State's Attorney Won't Pursue Charges in Police Shooting at Fermilab

An internal investigation will still be conducted by West Chicago PD in the Feb. 18 incident. Here is a full account of what led to the shooting.

The DuPage County State's Attorney will not pursue criminal charges against a police officer involved in a Feb. 18 off-duty shooting on the Fermilab campus, officials announced Friday afternoon.

"Based on the results of an incredibly thorough investigation, it is my conclusion that the People would not be able to meet their burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer involved in this incident committed a crime," said Robert Berlin, DuPage State's Attorney, in a release. "As a result, my office will not be taking any action against the officer."

Berlin details the events which led up to a vehicle pursuit and shooting in a 1,000-word press release, parts of which are included further down in this story.

Find out what's happening in Bataviawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The West Chicago Police Department will use the Sheriff's Office and State Attorney's Office investigation to determine whether the officer will face disciplinary action, said Laz Perez, West Chicago police chief.

The shooting occurred after midnight on Feb. 18, officials said. The officer reportedly witnessed a hit-and-run accident and pursued a car onto Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory property.

Find out what's happening in Bataviawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The off-duty officer exited the vehicle and confronted the occupants of the other vehicle.

, according to the DuPage County Sheriff's Office. One of the occupants in the vehicle was injured as the result of the shooting. on behalf of the teen who was shot, and others who were in the same vehicle.

The Officer has been on administrative leave since the day of the incident and will remain so pending the conclusion of the investigation.

Investigation Details

Robert and his staff carefully reviewed the applicable law and thoroughly examined all of the evidence, including but not limited to:

  • Video-taped statements from those involved
  • Witness accounts
  • Site visits
  • Physical evidence
  • Analysis of physical evidence

Here is a full account of the events from Feb. 18, as provided by the DuPage State's Attorney's Office in the press release:

On Feb. 18, 2012, the officer involved had just finished his shift at the West Chicago Police Department. On his way home from work, the officer witnessed a vehicle side-swipe another vehicle while driving southbound on Route 59 in West Chicago. After the contact, the vehicle continued southbound on Route 59 at a high rate of speed.

While stopped at the intersection of Route 59 and Mack Road, the officer pulled his vehicle near the driver’s side of the alleged offender’s vehicle. The officer identified himself as a police officer and got out of his vehicle in an attempt to get the license plate number of the other vehicle. Before the officer could get the license plate number, the vehicle sped away.

The officer continued to follow the vehicle on Route 59, and phoned DuComm to report he was an off-duty Officer chasing a hit and run. The vehicle turned westbound on Batavia Road and drove through a manned security gate at Fermilab without stopping or slowing down, and ultimately turned southbound onto Eola Road traveling to the dead-end on Eola near Butterfield Road.

The officer identified himself to the Fermilab security guard, continued into Fermilab, and stopped his vehicle approximately 300 yards away from the alleged offender’s vehicle near the entrance of the dead-end street. The vehicle then turned around and began driving towards the officer.

The officer waved his badge over his head and yelled at the vehicle to stop. The officer then pulled his weapon when the vehicle failed to stop and drove in the officer’s direction. The officer then fired his weapon at the vehicle, as he believed the vehicle was trying to hit him. One of the bullets discharged by the officer’s weapon went through the trunk of the car and hit Juan Carlos Ruiz, who was sitting in the back seat of the vehicle.

Officials Examine Use of Deadly Force

The DuPage State's Attorney's Office used these two questions when determining whether the officer was justified in using deadly force:

  • #1: Was the off-duty officer acting as a police officer under the law when he discharged his weapon? Simply put, did the officer fire his weapon in the line of duty?
  • #2: Did the off-duty officer reasonably believe the use of deadly force was necessary when attempting to arrest someone who had inflicted or threatened to inflict great bodily harm?

State's Attorney's Office Response to Question #1:

To answer the first question, one only needs to look at the United State’s Supreme Court holding in Stengel v. Belcher: “the fact that a police officer is on or off duty, or in or out of uniform is not controlling. ‘It is the nature of the act performed, not the clothing of the actor or even the status of being on duty, or off duty, which determines whether the officer has acted under the color of law.’”

On at least four occasions, the nature of the acts performed by the officer determined he was acting “under the color of the law.”

  1. During the chase, the officer called DuComm to report he was an off-duty officer from West Chicago following a hit and run vehicle.
  2. When the officer exited his vehicle at Route 59 and Mack Road, the officer identified himself as a police officer.
  3. Upon approaching the security gate at Fermi Lab, the officer informed the security guard he was a police officer following a hit and run driver.
  4. As the offending vehicle sped towards him, the officer held up his badge and again identified himself as a police officer.

"In light of these facts, it is clear the officer was acting in the line of duty," Berlin said in the press release.

State's Attorney's Office Response to Question #2:

In answering the second question, the Peace Officer’s Use of Force in Making Arrest statute (720 ILCS 5/7-5) states that “a peace officer need not retreat or desist from efforts to make a lawful arrest.”

Additionally, a peace officer is justified in using force likely to cause death or great bodily harm only when he reasonably believes that:

  • Such force is necessary to prevent the arrest from being defeated by resistance or escape
  • The person to be arrested has committed or attempted a forcible felony which involves the infliction or threatened infliction of great bodily harm

Thus, the question is whether it was objectively reasonable for the officer to believe the vehicle was attempting to run him over.

Focusing on the perceptions and actions of the officer throughout the entire incident, and the fact that Eola Road at the scene of the shooting is a narrow street with no artificial lighting, it is reasonable for the officer to have believed the vehicle was intentionally being driven at him. Therefore, under the applicable law, he was justified in the use of force.

It is important to remember that to pursue criminal charges against the officer, the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer’s belief that the car was intentionally being driven at him was unreasonable.

Until the West Chicago Police Department internal investigation is completed, no further details will be released, a separate press release from the City of West Chicago said.

The information in this story was compiled from the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office and the City of West Chicago.

Click the "Keep me posted" button if you are not already following this story to receive updates on this incident as they are announced.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.