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Fatal I-90 police shooting investigation now in the hands of Cook County state's attorney

The Illinois State Police has completed its preliminary investigation into a fatal police shooting in Elgin and forwarded the case to the Cook County state's attorney's office, authorities said.

Decynthia Clements, 34, was shot and killed March 12 after she had an hourlong standoff with police along Interstate 90. The police officer who fired the three shots, Lt. Christian Jensen, is on paid leave.

Elgin police doesn't have any details about the results of the state police investigation, and the matter is now in the hands of the state's attorney's office, department spokeswoman Kristie Hilton said.

“There is no anticipated time frame for the completion of the state's attorney's review,” Police Chief Ana Lalley said on Facebook. “We will continue to keep you informed as to the status of the case when we are made aware.”

State police public information officer Sgt. Ryan Cape said Thursday afternoon he hadn't seen any investigation documents. “It's still an open and ongoing investigation at this point,” he said.

Clements' family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in June stating Elgin police knew she was having a mental health crisis and used excessive force. The lawsuit names the city, Jensen and unnamed officers who were present that night.

In their lawsuit response filed in late July, the city and the other defendants “deny that officer Jensen shot Ms. Clements without reasonable cause or legal justification,” court documents show.

They also denied “having knowledge of a specific diagnosis of Ms. Clements condition at any time and admit that it appeared that Ms. Clements was having a crises of some kind and suicide was a concern.”

Attorney James DeAno of Chicago represents the defendants. Clements' family is represented by Romanucci & Blandin, LLC and Action Injury Law Group, LLC, both of Chicago.

The federal case is next due in court Oct. 18.

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Elgin police Lt. Chris Jensen has been on paid leave since he shot and killed Decynthia Clements on March 12.
  The family of Decynthia Clements, represented by attorneys Antonio Romanucci, left, and Andrew Stroth, right, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of Elgin and the police officer who shot Clements. The city denied the shooting took place "without reasonable cause or legal justification." Rick West/rwest@dailyherald.com
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