Illinois officer justified in shooting of knife-wielding man

CHATHAM, Ill. (AP) - A central Illinois police officer who shot a knife-wielding man four times when the man charged at him won't face charges in the shooting, a prosecutors says.

Sangamon County state's attorney Dan Wright said Monday in a news release that Chatham police Officer Adam Hahn was justified in using force likely to cause death or great bodily harm 'œunder the totality of the circumstances reflected" by an Illinois State Police investigation.

Hahn was called to a residence in Chatham, a Sangamon County village, on March 7 after a caller told dispatchers a man with a knife was cutting himself and said he would kill everyone, The State Journal-Register reported.

That man, later identified as Gregory Small, 30, did not listen when Hahn told him multiple times to drop the knife. Small then charged Hahn, who fired four shots, each of which struck Small.

Hahn and another officer 'œimmediately took life-saving measures'ť and called for an ambulance that arrived moments later, according to the Chatham Police Department.

Small, 30, was later released from a hospital, but he faces a charge of aggravated assault and is due in court Thursday, according to Chatham Deputy Chief Scott Tart.