ISP fatal shooting of Morrison man justified, Whiteside state’s attorney says

MORRISON – The fatal shooting of a Morrison man by an Illinois State Police trooper helping to serve a warrant was “justified and lawful,” Whiteside County State’s Attorney Terry Costello said in a news release Monday afternoon.

The Illinois State Police Division of Internal Investigation investigated the shooting; Costello reviewed the results of the investigation to determine if criminal charges were warranted.

According to the release:

Aaron Linke, 48, who had a history of felony weapons and drug charges in Whiteside County, was shot the morning of Oct. 21 in a two-story home in the 600 block of North Cherry Street by Trooper Stuart Baits.

Linke was taken off life support and died Oct. 25.

The ISP Blackhawk Area Task Force was there to serve a search warrant and arrest Linke in a case accusing him of dealing methamphetamine.

When officers failed to get a response after knocking and announcing their presence and intent multiple times, they breached the front door, tossed in a flash-bang device and heard three shots.

They cleared the first floor, which included getting an older man out of the house, and yelled for those on the second floor to come down with their hands up, commands that were ignored.

Another flashbang was tossed to the second-floor landing, and Baits and another officer, who were first up the stairs, encountered Linke holding a pistol, which he pointed at Baits.

Baits yelled “hands hands, hands,” but Linke “failed to respond to the commands” and Baits shot him three times in the head.

Linke also fired a shot that hit a nearby window.

Five guns subsequently were found in the home, three by Linke’s body,

“The totality of these circumstances would lead any reasonable officer to conclude that the use of deadly force was necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm of himself or fellow officers. Trooper Baits was justified in the using deadly force,” Costello said in the release.

A woman was found in the bathroom with a gunshot wound in her abdomen from a gun Linke fired; a man was found in a bedroom. No further information on them has been released.

According to the release, Costello’s office reviewed 23 hours of footage from the officers’ body cameras, 118 hours of video from home surveillance systems, 13 hours of interviews, 5,000 pages of reports and 1,000 photographs.

The totality of these circumstances would lead any reasonable officer to conclude that the use of deadly force was necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm of himself or fellow officers. Trooper Baits was justified in the using deadly force.”

—  Whiteside County State's Attorney Terry Costello

At the time of his death, Linke was free on bond in three pending Whiteside County cases.

On Sept. 29, 2017, he was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, possession of a weapon by a felon and possession of meth.

On March 13, 2019, he was charged with possession of a firearm by a felon and violating his bond.

On April 29, 2019, he was charged with six counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of a controlled substance and possession of meth.

He was set for a status hearing in all three on Nov. 30.

Linke was arrested March 12, 20919 and was in Whiteside County jail until Feb. 25, 2021, when his bail was reduced from $250,000 to $150,000, he posted $15,000 and was released with a GPS monitor, jail records show.

On May 7, 2004, he was sentenced in Whiteside County to eight years for dealing cocaine in 2002. Two other counts were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.

In February 2009, when he gave police a Peoria address, a Whiteside County jury found him not guilty of aggravated battery of a pregnant woman and battery causing great bodily harm.