Peoria County State’s Attorney Jodi Hoos has determined the fatal shooting of a St. Louis man by a Peoria Police Department officer outside a downtown hotel in May was justified.
The unnamed officer shot and killed Cortez White, 41, after White fatally shot ex-girlfriend Ashley Stenson on a sidewalk along Hamilton Boulevard near the Four Points by Sheraton during a domestic dispute on May 8.
In a six-page statement issued Wednesday, Hoos said her office’s examination of the case found that White “acted in a manner that left a Peoria Police Officer with no choice but to use deadly force.” The officer will not face criminal charges.
A summary of facts indicates Stenson, 42, had traveled to Peoria from Atlanta, Georgia to attend a wedding. A cousin was at the airport to pick her up in the parking lot, but Cortez “unexpectantly showed up” and took her with him as the cousin followed them.
As she rode with White, Stenson texted family members that he was going to kill her. The family members called 911 and provided a description of Stenson, White and the vehicle they were in to police.
They arrived at the hotel and the officer responded to the location, seeing them on the sidewalk. The officer was in full uniform and driving a marked Peoria Police Department squad car.
White pulled out a handgun and shot Stenson in the head, in front of the officer. After she fell to the ground, White continued to shoot her before pointing the gun at the officer. During this time, the officer fired several shots at White as he attempted to flee.
White eventually fell to the ground and was taken into custody, then brought to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center and later pronounced dead.
Autopsies showed White shot Stenson five times, including twice in the head. White was shot multiple times.
The entire incident was captured on the officer’s body camera and the camera mounted on his squad car.
The statement from Hoos said the events occurred “within a split second” of the officer exiting his squad car, and that he had no choice but to engage in a shootout with White as a matter of safety.
“The officer had a clear duty to try and apprehend White so that he did not harm anyone else. At that point, from a reasonable officer’s perspective, White was a threat to everyone in the vicinity,” the statement reads.
“Upon review of the facts, it is determined that the course of conduct engaged in by the officer that resulted in the death of Cortez White was justified, reasonable and necessary to protect the health and safety of the citizens of Illinois, himself and others from death or great bodily harm.”
