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State's attorney: Bloomingdale officers justified in fatal shooting of Carol Stream man

Three Bloomingdale police officers were justified in the April 5 fatal shooting of a Carol Stream man who charged at one of them with a knife, DuPage County's top prosecutor announced Wednesday.

State's Attorney Robert Berlin said no criminal charges will be filed against any of the officers who shot and killed Julius Glover, 26, after a short car chase that ended on the 1900 block of Chippendale Lane in Glendale Heights.

Berlin said he reached his conclusion after an investigation by the DuPage County Major Crimes Task Force and a review of 911 calls, witness accounts, photographs and other evidence. At a news conference in April, police said that while some squad cars are equipped with cameras, none captured video of the shooting.

Officers Levi McGhee, Phillip Jaffe and Jeremy Redic fired a total of 17 shots, striking Glover nine times, Berlin said in the written ruling.

"Given his refusal to obey police commands and advance toward the officers while armed with a deadly weapon, the officers acted lawfully and were justified in using deadly force by discharging their weapons in order to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to themselves or others," Berlin wrote.

He shared this account of the shooting:

At 6:45 p.m., Bloomingdale police responded to a call regarding a man with a knife at the Walmart on Army Trail Road. The man, later identified as Glover, stole a woman's car keys and, when she demanded them back, told her, "Do you know who the (expletive) I am? I am the (expletive) anti-Christ."

Glover then walked to the back of the store, where he was confronted by an employee. Glover pulled a knife, the employee backed away and Glover fled through an emergency exit.

As officers approached the Walmart, dispatchers told them Glover had left the parking lot and the case was now a possible robbery. After a brief car chase, Glover pulled over on Chippendale Lane just south of Mill Pond Drive.

He got out of the stolen Lexus RX350 without being ordered to do so and stood outside the driver's door. One of the officers ordered Glover to turn around but Glover instead reached inside the car, put his hands in his pockets and began walking away.

One of the officers noticed Glover was holding a large knife. Officers Redic and Jaffe arrived and saw other officers pointing their firearms at Glover. Both Redic and Jaffe were dressed in plain clothes and wearing outer vest carriers embroidered with a department badge.

Officer McGhee then arrived in a marked squad car with his police dog. McGhee was wearing a uniform. He positioned himself with his dog in front of the other officers and ordered Glover to drop the knife multiple times. Glover laughed and said, "I'll kill that (expletive) dog."

As officers followed him down the street, Glover turned and began walking quickly toward McGhee and the dog.

McGhee and Redic both ordered Glover to stop. Glover screamed and began sprinting at McGhee while pointing the knife.

When Glover got to within five feet, McGhee, Redic and Jaffe all fired at the same time.

McGhee, armed with a 9 mm Glock 17 handgun, fired six times; Jaffe, armed with a Sig Sauer P320 9 mm handgun, fired three times; and Redic, armed with a .40 caliber Glock Model 22, fired eight times.

Once Glover was down, Redic called for an ambulance and began chest compressions. Glendale Heights police officers arrived at the scene and took over CPR.

Investigators recovered 17 cartridge cases near or under Glover's body and in a nearby driveway. Investigators also recovered a silver, 8.25-inch kitchen knife with a partially serrated blade on the driveway about 6 to 10 feet from Glover's body.

Berlin said Glover refused "multiple clear and audible commands" corroborated by civilian witnesses to drop the knife.

"In my opinion, the officers involved in this unfortunate incident made every attempt to reach a peaceful conclusion under very stressful conditions," he wrote.

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