An officer-involved shooting in Peoria’s East Bluff that resulted in the death of a 41-year-old man has been deemed justified by the Peoria County State’s Attorney Jodi Hoos.
The prosecutors’ office on Thursday released its final report on the fatal shooting of Brandon Lewis, who struck a Peoria Police Department officer with a bat before he was shot on Aug. 5.
“Mr. Lewis was armed with a wooden baseball bat, and officers had ordered him to drop it eight different times,” Hoos said in a statement. “He refused and stated that he was not putting the bat down.
“He then started swinging the bat aggressively at an officer. He struck the officer at least two times before the officer fired his weapon, resulting in a justified use of deadly force.”
The altercation between Lewis and two police officers happened around 5 p.m. near the intersection of NE Glen Oak Ave. and North Prospect Road. The incident started when police told Lewis they were going to to detain him for urinating on the sidewalk.
One of the officers ordered him several times to stand up as he sat while holding the bat. As the officer slowly approached Lewis, he stood up and swung the bat at them. In officers’ body camera footage released by the Illinois State Police, Lewis is seen swinging the bat and striking one of the officers.
One officer discharged a taser, and the other officer – who had been struck – shot Lewis as he attempted to flee the scene. The officers caught up with an injured Lewis again behind a nearby residential building, where he was handcuffed.
Lewis initially was responsive, but died at the scene moments later. The Peoria County Coroner’s Office said Lewis died from a gunshot wound to his stomach.
The report from Hoos’ office concludes “that the course of conduct engaged in by the officer that resulted in the death of Brandon Lewis was justified, reasonable, and necessary to protect the health and safety of the citizens of Illinois, himself, and other officers from death or great bodily harm.”
The officers involved in the incident, Da’Monte Williams and Veronica Orozco, had been placed on critical incident leave after the shooting. Police Chief Eric Echevarria says they have been cleared to return to full duty.
“We appreciate the thorough independent investigation conducted by the Illinois State Police and the Peoria County State’s Attorney,” Echevarria said in a statement posted on social media. He said the next step will be an internal review by the department’s office of professional standards.
