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Naperville cop cleared in shooting of man armed with silver pellet gun

A Naperville police officer has been cleared in a Jan. 23 shooting in which he wounded a 27-year-old man authorities said was armed with a silver airsoft gun.

In his written ruling Monday, DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said officer Jordan Koziel was justified when he discharged his weapon seven times, striking Zachery Kelley once in his right shoulder and once in his left knee. No criminal charges will be filed.

Berlin said he and his staff carefully reviewed the applicable law and examined all the evidence, including but not limited to police reports, witness accounts, physical evidence and in-squad videos before issuing his ruling.

"In my opinion, the officer involved in this unfortunate incident made every attempt to reach a peaceful conclusion under very stressful conditions. His show of concern and compassion for Mr. Kelly and for the safety and well-being of his fellow officers is a testament to the excellent training that the Naperville Police Department provides for their entire force," Berlin wrote.

"Unfortunately, Mr. Kelley's failure to obey the officer's commands and his aggressive, threatening behavior resulted in the officer discharging his weapon."

Authorities give this account of the shooting:

Just after 10:15 p.m. on Jan. 23, Koziel and another Naperville officer responded to a 911 hang-up call on the 1200 block of Whispering Hills Court. Upon their arrival, a woman told them she had an argument with her boyfriend, Kelley, and he left the apartment.

Roughly 15 minutes later, a woman stopped at the Mobil station at 1280 W. Ogden Ave. Authorities say when she got out of her car she was approached by Kelly, whom she did not know.

Kelley asked the woman for a ride and offered her money. She refused, went into the station and called 911 to report a suspicious person.

After unsuccessfully trying to open the woman's locked car doors, Kelley walked inside the station, heard the woman talking to police, left and walked to the parking lot of an adjacent strip mall.

At 10:36 p.m., another Naperville officer responded to the call of a suspicious person at the station. As she arrived, she heard Kelley was at Los Burritos Tapatios and had a gun. The officer, who took cover behind an SUV in the parking lot, told authorities she thought Kelley's gun was real.

Koziel, a six-year police department veteran, was looking for Kelley when he heard a police radio call that the subject was at Los Burritos Tapatios and armed with a gun.

Koziel arrived and saw Kelley holding a gun to his own head. Koziel said he heard Kelley say several times that his life was over and watched as Kelley dropped to his knees while still holding the gun to his head.

Koziel tried to calm Kelley and ordered him to drop the gun several times.

Kelley was upset and crying, but Koziel continued talking to him and reminding him "things can always get better" and asking Kelley to give him a chance to help.

Kelley then stood up, walked forward and pointed the gun directly toward responding officers who were about 25 yards away.

Koziel said he was in fear of his life and the other officers' lives when he fired seven shots and saw Kelley fall to the pavement.

Officers and paramedics from a private ambulance that happened to be in the parking lot at the time tended to the wounded Kelley.

Kelley later was hospitalized. He admitted he remembered pointing the gun and wanting the officers to shoot him so he could commit "suicide by cop."

Kelley later was charged with three counts of aggravated assault to a police officer and is being held on $100,000 bail. His next court date is scheduled for May 13.

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A frame grab from video released by the Naperville Police Department shows the moments leading up to the Jan. 23 shooting of 27-year-old Zachery Kelley by officer Jordan Koziel. DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin on Monday ruled the shooting was justified. Courtesy of Naperville Police Department
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