Members of the Henry County Special Operations Squad, which includes one Kewanee Police officer, were justified when they used deadly force against a man brandishing a machete, according to a statement from Stark County State’s Attorney Caroline Borden Campion. The decision came following an investigation conducted by the Illinois State Police.
The shooting occurred on Saturday, February 18, 2023 when the operations unit attempted to arrest Rodney G. Williams, 66, Toulon. According to the state police, the HCSOS served a search warrant around 6:30 am at a house in the 500 block of North Olive Street in Toulon.
A man, identified as Williams, attempted to hit officers with a machete, and officers fired their weapons, hitting Williams. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The determination made by the Stark County State’s Attorney was that the officer and deputies were in “imminent” threat of death or great bodily harm when they opened fire on Williams.
“Overall, the officers’ actions were legally justified, reasonable and necessary to protect the health and safety of the officers, the community of Toulon and citizens of Stark County,” Campion said.
The Kewanee Police Department referred any questions about the investigation into the officer involved shooting that occurred in Stark County on February 18th, 2023, to the Illinois State Police Zone 4
investigations and the Stark County State’s Attorney’s Office.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Kewanee Police Department stated it was confident that the investigation into the officer involved shooting would show the use of force by members of the Henry County Special Operations Squad would be found to be justified.
“While the shooting was found to be justified, we acknowledge the loss of life in this circumstance is tragic,” the press statement read.
****This copy has been updated to include comments from the Kewanee Police Department.
