Rantoul officer's use of deadly force justified, State's Attorney says

(WAND) - A Rantoul police officer's use of force against an armed man who was shot and killed with his own gun during a struggle with the officer was justified, the county's chief prosecutor said.

The News Gazette reports Champaign County State’s Attorney Julia Rietz gave her preliminary legal opinion about the Feb. 6 death of Azaan Lee, 21, of Champaign.

This came after reviewing preliminary autopsy information and police reports.

Rietz released a three-page synopsis Tuesday afternoon.

Rietz said it is possible that additional witnesses could still come forward.

“However, I do not expect any additional evidence or information to affect or alter my preliminary opinions,” she said.

Lee's family has been in contact with Illinois State Police investigators.

Detectives will go to their home in Chicago on Thursday to show them police body-camera footage from the incident and answer any questions.

Rietz said police plan to publicly release the video either late Thursday or Friday after the family views it.

The night of February 6, just before 11:00, Rantoul officers Haley Mennenga and Rikki McComas responded to the 200 block of West Belle Avenue for a report of a stolen vehicle.

A woman said she left her car running in the road and went into a house and then came back out to see it being driven away.

Officers said as they were talking to her in the street, Azaan Lee came up and interacted with all of them.

Police said it was unclear then if Lee was involved in the car theft, and he told them he was there to see a friend who lives in the area.

The stolen car was found at Scott St. and Campbell Ave. just after 11 p.m. Officers took the woman to the area to identify it.

They said Lee walked away from the area in the meantime.

Officer Jose Aceves, who knew a car had been stolen, but did not know the other officers had already talked to Lee, saw him walking near the intersection of Belle Ave., Tanner St. and Ohio Ave.

Officer Aceves said he could see a rectangular heavy object in the pocket of Lee's sweatshirt.

The News Gazette said Officer McComas arrived and asked Lee if he had any keys on him, because officers learned the keys to the stolen car were missing.

Lee emptied his pants pockets, showing a lighter, change, and a headphones case.

McComas asked him what was in his front sweatshirt pocket.

Police said Lee reached his right hand into the pocket, at which time Aceves grabbed Lee’s right wrist and patted the pocket, asking “What do you have right here?”

Officer Aceves said he saw a black object with a circular hole, which appeared to be the bottom of a handgun magazine, in the sweatshirt pocket.

Police said Lee pulled away from Aceves with his hand in his pocket as Aceves reached into the pocket and grabbed the object, confirming it was a handgun.

Officer Aceves and Lee struggled over the gun, police said.

Aceves said it looked like Lee was trying to pull the gun out of his pocket.

During the struggle, Aceves’ body camera fell off.

Aceves, Lee and McComas, who had jumped in to get Lee into custody, all fell to the ground.

The News Gazette reports Aceves and Lee got back up and struggled over the gun.

Aceves said he and Lee both had hold of the gun from the inside and outside of the sweatshirt pocket.

They fought over the gun for about 20 seconds, police said. At 11:18 p.m., it fired and Lee took off, dropping the gun as he ran.

Aceves then got up and fired his duty weapon three times in Lee’s direction, but none of those shots hit him, police said.

Officer Aceves said he fired because he was concerned about Lee being a danger to the public and possibly possessing another weapon.

Lee was found almost 20 minutes later in the backyard of a residence in the 200 block of E. Campbell Ave. by Rantoul police officers and Champaign County sheriff’s deputies.

They found him because a citizen called to report hearing a man moaning in her backyard, the News Gazette reports.

Lee was found unresponsive and with a gunshot wound to his inner left thigh.

Officers applied a tourniquet and gave aid until paramedics arrived and took him to Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, where he was pronounced dead.

Preliminary autopsy results showed the cause of death was a single contact gunshot wound to the left inside thigh, tracking downward from front to back, perforating the left femoral artery.

Due to a 2021 conviction for domestic battery with a prior domestic battery, Lee was not allowed to own or possess a gun.

Rietz said Officer Aceves was legally justified to speak with and search Lee, based on existing case law. The officer knew of an ongoing stolen-vehicle investigation and saw him in the area.

He did not know that other officers had already spoken with Lee or that the stolen vehicle had been recovered.

“It was appropriate for the officers to attempt to determine if he was a witness, the suspect or uninvolved,” Rietz said. “Moreover, Aceves reasonably would have potential concerns for his own safety and the safety of the public given the time of day, the lack of lighting, the appearance of a heavy object in Mr. Lee’s pocket and Mr. Lee’s actions when asked about the object. These concerns further justify his attempt to search Mr. Lee.”

As for his use of deadly force, Rietz cited the applicable Illinois law to conclude it was legally justifiable the News Gazette said:

“A peace officer is justified in using force likely to cause death or great bodily harm when he reasonably believes, based on the totality of the circumstances, that such force is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or another person; or when he reasonably believes, based on the totality of the circumstances, both that such force is necessary to prevent the arrest from being defeated by resistance or escape and the officer reasonably believes that the person to be arrested is likely to cause great bodily harm to another; and the person to be arrested committed or attempted to commit a forcible felony which involves the infliction or threatened infliction of great bodily harm or is attempting to escape by use of a deadly weapon, or otherwise indicates that he will endanger human life or inflict great bodily harm unless arrested without delay.”

“Officer Aceves reasonably believed Lee presented a risk to the officers and the public; Mr. Lee had attempted to escape the encounter with the illegally possessed firearm; Officer Aceves was not aware of the extent of Mr. Lee’s injury when he fled; and Officer Aceves reasonably believed Lee may have access to another deadly weapon at the time he fled from Officer Aceves after the gun discharged.”