State's attorney: Addison cop justified in shooting woman armed with 2 knives

An Addison police officer has been cleared in a Jan. 17 shooting in which she wounded a 51-year-old woman who authorities said was armed with two knives.

In his written ruling Monday, DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said officer Catherine Diaz was justified when she discharged her weapon three times, striking April Hachmeister once in the chest.

Prosecutors said Diaz was dispatched to a 911 call of a battery in progress with a woman hitting a man at 4:26 a.m. on the 200 block of North Mill Road.

Upon Diaz's arrival, police said Hachmeister grabbed the man's face, gouged his eyes and threatened him at knife point.

Dispatchers had advised Diaz the caller said Hachmeister had stabbed several items inside the apartment, including a coffee maker and television. The caller said he was outside the residence while Hachmeister was still armed inside.

Prosecutors said Diaz was the first of three officers to enter the residence through a sliding-glass door. Once inside, Diaz yelled, "Addison police" and "April, we want to talk to you" multiple times.

Hachmeister appeared from the bedroom area holding a silver knife with a black handle in her right hand above her head with the blade pointed toward Diaz and the other officers, officials said, and Hachmeister had another knife in her left hand pointed down.

Prosecutors say Diaz twice told Hachmeister, "Drop the gun." Realizing she said "gun" instead of "knife," she corrected herself and stated, "Drop the knife" two more times.

Hachmeister walked toward the officers, and Diaz yelled "Drop the knife" repeatedly. Officials said Hachmeister stopped but then began screaming and charged with the knife over her head.

When Hachmeister was roughly 5 to 7 feet away, Diaz fired two shots. After realizing Hachmeister was still standing and had raised her hand again over her head while still holding the knife, Diaz fired once more and hit the woman.

Hachmeister told Diaz, "You shot me," then turned and began walking away. After a few steps, she dropped to the floor and released the knife.

"In my opinion, (Diaz) made every attempt to reach a peaceful conclusion under very stressful conditions. Her concern for the safety and well-being of possible other residents in the home as well as her fellow officers is a testament to the excellent training that the Addison Police Department provides for their entire force," Berlin said in a written statement. "Unfortunately, (Hachmeister's) failure to obey the officer's commands and her extremely aggressive and threatening behavior resulted in the officer discharging her weapon."

Investigators later recovered a kitchen knife with a 3.5-inch blade from the kitchen floor, a kitchen knife with a 4.75-inch blade from the living room floor, two kitchen knives from the top of the coffee table, a small folding knife from the living room floor and a silver folding knife from the hallway floor by the kitchen. Investigators also recovered three shell casings.

Hachmeister remains in DuPage County jail on $50,000 bail. She is charged with three counts of aggravated assault on an officer, domestic battery and criminal damage to property. She is next due in court on May 6.