Some in the community are questioning the deadly use of force by Peoria Police over-night. 19-year-old Luis Cruz was shot three-times, including once in the head, arm and leg.
Interim Peoria Police Chief Loren Marion says officers first attempted to pull-over the vehicle Cruz was in at Western and MLK Drive about midnight Thursday.
Marion says the car proceeded about two blocks before pulling to the curb on Blaine. Cruz reportedly fled the vehicle as it was stopping. “During the brief foot pursuit, Cruz began to turn toward one of the officers. At that time an officer fired his duty weapon multiple times at Cruz striking him,” Marion said.
The chief says police wanted Cruz for a June 21st shooting. He was being sought for aggravated battery with a firearm, aggravated discharge of a firearm and aggravated assault related to that date. But Marion says there was also a domestic battery charge police wanted to speak with Cruz about.
But some are questioning why police didn’t use a taser. Marion says, “it would not be feasible for an officer to address deadly force with with less deadly force. So if someone is armed with a gun and points a gun at the officer, the officer’s training would be to respond to stop the threat.”
Marion says it’s unclear whether Cruz raised a gun, but a loaded handgun was found at the scene. He says that’s one of the things the State Police Investigation will determine.
Efforts to save Cruz’s life ended 2:27 a.m. at OSF Medical Center. He leaves behind one-year-old twin daughters.
One of Cruz’s sisters says the use of deadly force was not justified. She says police knew where her brother lived because of his prior record and she wonders why they didn’t come after him at home. Cruz lived with that sister.
One officer fired his weapon in the shooting but five are on critical incident leave related to the shooting. Officers were not wearing body cameras. The chief says there is dashcam video and that has also been turned over to the Illinois State Police.
This is the third police shooting death in Peoria in 10-months.