A police expert says the officers who shot and killed an armed man on Interstate 55 in McLean County last month showed restraint in not firing sooner, after the subject pointed a gun at one of the officers.
“I think this is probably an officer's worst nightmare,” said Bill Lally, a police officer for over 20 years and criminal justice professor at Illinois State University.
The officer dashcam and body-worn video, which Illinois State Police made public on Monday, shows a chaotic scene from the incident, which happened in broad daylight on Feb. 24 near Lexington.
A man pointed what police believed to be a gun directly at one officer while standing behind an SUV that was pulled to the side of the highway. It wasn't until the armed man moved away from the vehicle and three other people nearby before officers shot him, and after they told him several times to drop his weapon and get to the ground.
“That’s just a wise decision. Obviously, you do not want to have the responsibility of accidentally striking an innocent bystander,” Lally said in an interview on WGLT’s Sound Ideas.
Lally said if officers faced a substantial risk of injuring a bystander, they are advised to take cover.
“The other thing you have to worry about is whether or not those bystanders are at risk from him,” Lally said.
No one else was injured in the incident, according to police.
Illinois State Police have not indicated what may have led to the incident or what Little’s relationship was with the other four people spotted near the vehicles.
The incident unfolded within a matter of moments. Lally said the officers appeared to be well trained based on how they seemed to maintain their composure during those frenetic moments.
“It did appear that the officers we able to maintain some sense of calmness and were not allowing that adrenaline that was pumping through their system to override their training,” he said.
The gunman who was shot and killed was later identified as Trayvon Little, 37, of Springfield.
Lally said many officers will face trauma after shooting someone, and it may take time before they are able to return to work.
“Until recently there was a policy of hands off, if you will, that you just let the trooper or officer deal with these things on their own time,” he said. “Agencies began to realize that there is going to be some psychological trauma.”
State Police say the incident remains under investigation.
