Glen Ellyn cop cleared in suit over fatal shooting

A former Glen Ellyn police officer was cleared Friday of any wrongdoing in a lawsuit brought by the family of a young man killed during a violent scuffle.

A federal jury deliberated for about an hour before deciding officer Jason Bradley was justified in the April 26, 2006, shooting that killed Benjamin Uwumarogie, 22.

"I just want to say I'm very pleased with the jury's verdict," said Bradley, 27, now an Illinois State Police trooper.

The deceased man's parents, Sunday and Portia Uwumarogie, alleged in their civil wrongful-death lawsuit that Bradley used excessive force against their unarmed son. The jury rejected the parents' request of a $55 million judgment against the officer and village.

Uwumarogie, a College of DuPage football player, did not have a violent criminal history, but authorities said that changed that day during a series of bizarre acts in his Iron Gate apartment complex.

Police said he physically attacked a girlfriend, performed nude cartwheels, shouted religious rantings and tried to drown his own 1-year-old son, Ben, before going after Bradley.

Bradley was the first officer to respond to the girlfriend's 911 call on Brier Street.

The police officer testified during the civil trial that he first encountered a nude Uwumarogie in a grassy courtyard. Bradley said Uwumarogie ignored his demands to surrender and, at one point, picked up a neighbor's 3-year-old child who was playing nearby.

Bradley used pepper spray to try to subdue Uwumarogie, who had already released the child unharmed, but it did not stop him. Uwumarogie went into his apartment. Bradley followed.

Inside the apartment, Bradley said, Uwumarogie began drowning his child in a water-filled bathtub. After Bradley wrestled the child away, the two men began a violent struggle that ended in a nearby bedroom with Uwumarogie repeatedly punching the officer in the face while straddling him on the bed.

The village's attorney, Thomas DiCianni, said Bradley was near unconsciousness and left with but one option to protect himself and the public. Bradley then shot Uwumarogie with his .45-caliber service pistol.

Uwumarogie, shot once in his right eye, was killed instantly.

Attorney Benjamin Obi Nwoye, who represented the Uwumarogie family, argued Bradley misread the situation and should have tried to resolve it without discharging his weapon. For example, the attorney said, Uwumarogie was merely trying to get pepper spray out of his child's eyes when placing him in the bathtub.

"I don't feel anyone has the right to take a life," Portia Uwumarogie said after the verdict. "This should not sit well with anyone because if it can happen to Benjamin, it can happen to your child. My son was special to our family. Regardless of what anyone else may think of him, we know he was not trying to kill his son or take anyone's life that day.

"God is going to settle this in the end."

The family is appealing the jury verdict.

Benjamin Uwumarogie did not have any drugs or alcohol in his system that day. Afterward, several of his co-workers and friends reported a series of bizarre behaviors in which he made religious and suicidal references leading up to the fatal struggle.

A day before the shooting, a surveillance tape outside a Joliet Kmart captured him in a pond as if baptizing himself. That same day, co-workers told police a sobbing Uwumarogie punched a wall and threatened to throw himself off the roof.

After a one-month investigation, DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph Birkett ruled Bradley had no choice but to discharge his weapon. Birkett cleared Bradley of any criminal wrongdoing.

Several Glen Ellyn police officers hugged Bradley after Friday's verdict in the federal courthouse hallway. Police Chief Philip J. Norton said the jury's swift verdict did not surprise him.

"On that day, Jason was a hero," the police chief said. "It's unfortunate what happened, but he acted appropriately and saved two lives - a 1-year-old child's and his own."

U.S. Northern District Judge Matthew Kennelly presided over the civil trial, which began Monday in Chicago.

Cleared: Glen Ellyn chief calls officer a hero