DeKalb man fatally shot by DeKalb police officer after threats with samurai sword, says police chief

DeKALB - A 33-year-old DeKalb man was fatally shot by a DeKalb police officer during a domestic dispute Monday after police said the man had threatened himself, a woman and officers with a “samurai sword” weapon.

Police said the man did not comply with officer requests to put the weapon down while threatening those around.

The identity of the deceased was not released Monday, pending notification of next of kin, DeKalb Police Chief David Byrd said.

The officer who fired the gun – who Byrd described as a “a veteran police officer” – has been placed on administrative duty per departmental policy when a police officer discharges their firearm, Byrd said. The officer will remain working and paid but will not do field assignments or patrol, Byrd said. An investigation into the use of force incident will be conducted by the Illinois State Police.

DeKalb County Coroner Dennis Miller said Monday next of kin for the man, a 33-year-old white man from DeKalb, was notified. However, he declined to confirm the man’s identity and deferred on-record identification to DeKalb police.

Miller, who did the autopsy, said the cause of death was one gunshot wound to the chest area, although the manner of death – whether it is homicide, suicide, natural, accidental or undetermined – has not been determined.

“That’s still under investigation,” Miller said.

Byrd said the man was shot by the officer “in the chest area to side, upper chest” area and was transported by DeKalb paramedics to Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital, where he was “in serious condition.”

He succumbed to his wounds, Byrd said, about 10:30 a.m. Monday. No police officers were injured, Byrd said.

Domestic dispute with sword

About 2:45 a.m. Monday, DeKalb police responded to a report of domestic violence at a home in the 100 block of Tilton Park Drive, Byrd said. About a half hour later, the man was shot dead by the DeKalb police officer.

A citywide emergency alert was sent about 2:56 a.m. alerting residents to avoid the area because of “police activity in the area.”

The man who was shot by the officer was the alleged offender in the domestic violence call, Byrd said.

“It started as a domestic and then evolved into a subject brandishing and attacking with a weapon,” Byrd said. “Looks like a subject brandished an edge weapon and he advanced on a police officer and they had to fire.”

Byrd clarified that “edge weapon” meant knife. The weapon was later described as a “samurai sword” in a news statement released by the DeKalb Police Department about 2:20 p.m.

According to the statement, officers were initially called to a home in the 100 block of Tilton Park Drive for reports of a “domestic disturbance.”

Upon arrival, officers discovered a “frantic” woman in the backyard, according to the department statement. Byrd said the woman suffered minor injuries.

Police said the woman told officers the man inside the home had been drinking alcohol and was armed with a “samurai sword.” The woman told officers the man threatened to kill her and attack police, and that he was “a danger to himself and had self-inflicted wounds to his wrist,” according to the police statement.

Police said they removed the woman from the situation and then attempted to make contact with the man, who was inside the house.

According to the statement, officers attempted to speak to the man through the door of the home and “were able to start a dialogue,” talking to the man for several minutes “attempting to de-escalate the situation.”

Byrd described de-escalation dialogue as “verbal Judo.” He said about 20 to 30 minutes passed between the time of the call and when the man was shot.

Officers then reportedly convinced the man to open the door. The man grabbed the samurai sword and “advanced towards [the] officer with the weapon over his head and pointed at the officers,” according to the release.

The police statement referred to the sword as “a large-edged weapon consistent with the description of a ‘samurai sword.’ ”

Police said the officers told the man several times to drop the weapon and stop. He refused, police said, leading officers to use what the statement described as “less than lethal measures (taser and bean-bag projectile).”

Byrd said a bean-bag projectile is a gun that fires bean bags for police to use as a “non-lethal” weapon.

Byrd said there were three officers involved, and one each fired a different weapon: a taser, a bean-bag projectile and a firearm.

The Illinois State Police have been called and will investigate the police shooting, Byrd said.

Byrd said the ISP’s involvement is according to DeKalb Police Department policy.

It’s the second time this year that a DeKalb officer has been involved in a shooting and given desk duty, while the state police investigates. No one was injured in the incident earlier this year, however.

On Aug. 8, a DeKalb police officer fired their gun at a man in the 900 block of Spiros Court. According to DeKalb County court records, the officer fired one shot at the man – but did not hit him – after he allegedly was seen pointing a handgun at others and didn’t comply with the officer’s order to put the weapon down. The officer involved in that incident also was placed on desk duty pending an ISP investigation. Dante Ormond, 30, DeKalb, later was arrested and charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, aggravated discharge of a firearm and resisting a peace officer, records show.

Illinois Freedom of Information Act requests made by the Daily Chronicle related to the Aug. 8 incident have been denied. In the denial, police wrote the release of the requested information would “obstruct an ongoing criminal investigation.”

Byrd said Monday that the ISP has completed its investigation of the Aug. 8 police shooting and is “in the process of turning that investigation over to the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office.