The Stark County state's attorney said the officers of the Henry County Special Operations Squad were legally justified in fatally shooting Rodney Williams on February 18.
State's Attorney Caroline Borden Campion said she made the determination after reviewing the investigation materials gathered by the Illinois State Police, which included body camera footage, audio recordings, lab reports, and other documents.
Stark County deputies had previously dealt with Williams on Feb. 10 when they were called by his family to perform a wellness check. Williams refused to come out of his bedroom when deputies entered, and reportedly swung a machete outside his bedroom window near first responders.
On Feb. 17, aggravated assault charges were filed in Stark County Court after Williams' landlord said his tenant charged at him with a machete and threatened to kill him when he came over to examine a damaged door and deliver a note.
A judge issued an arrest warrant with no-knock authority and ordered law enforcement officials to confiscate Williams' weapons, Campion said.
The Henry County Special Operations Squad is made up of law enforcement officials from the Henry County Sheriff's Office, Stark County Sheriff's Office, Kewanee Police Department, and Galva Police Department.
Police arrived at Williams' Toulon apartment at 6 a.m. on Feb. 18 to arrest him. They said Williams was seen through a glass porch front door yelling and holding up a machete. Campion said he turned and ran towards the back of his apartment when police announced themselves and asked him to come outside with his hands up.
He didn't respond again when officers and deputies entered his apartment, Campion said. Noises heard behind a door in the apartment led officers to believe Williams was barricading himself in a room.
The state's attorney said police then called out to Williams by name, announced he was under arrest, and told him to come out of the room and put his weapon down. When he didn't do so, they breached the door.
Williams then reportedly charged at a Henry County deputy. The deputy used a protective shield to ward off machete blows from Williams. The other officers ordered Wiliams to put down his machete as the deputy pushed back and tried to disarm him.
When the deputy lost his balance, body camera footage reportedly showed Williams grabbing the shield and exposing the deputy's upper torso, before moving in for another machete strike.
The deputy, another Henry County deputy, and a Kewanee police officer then fired at Williams.
"At that point, lethal force was necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm," Campion said.
Williams was taken to the hospital, where he died. An autopsy confirmed he from multiple gunshot wounds.
"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," said Campion.
