Des Plaines officer who accidentally shot teen won't be prosecuted
The Cook County state's attorney's office has declined to prosecute a Des Plaines police officer who accidentally shot a teenager in 2019 at a Northwest Side music school.
According to a news release issued Wednesday by the Des Plaines Police Department, the state's attorney's office conducted a review of the shooting that happened Nov. 19, 2019, at UpBeat Music & Art, 4332 W. Irving Park Road in Chicago, and decided not to file charges against officer James Armstrong.
Police were pursuing suspects in a bank robbery when one of them ran into the music store. Rylan Wilder, a budding musician working as an intern at the store, sustained serious injuries to his left arm when was accidentally shot.
““We agree with the state's attorney's decision not to file criminal charges against our officer,” Des Plaines Police Chief David Anderson said in the news release. “Officer Armstrong acted heroically to stop an active shooter who had just committed multiple forceable felonies and shot a Chicago police officer prior to entering the music school. We recognize the serious injury that occurred to student Rylan Wilder during this dangerous incident.”
A lawyer who represents the Wilder family in a lawsuit said he's outraged that he learned only Tuesday of the decision not to charge Armstrong.
“Rylan's life was changed through no fault of his own due to the reckless actions of the Des Plaines police officer. Yesterday afternoon, we downloaded the report from the state's attorney's website. The family was not notified of the decision in advance, which was devastating to them,” Tim Cavanagh said in a statement to the Chicago Sun-Times. “Why did a Des Plaines officer pursue a suspect into the city of Chicago and why did he use his personal gun — a military-style assault rifle? The wound to Rylan's arm inflicted damage commensurate with a war victim. His life will never be the same. We are lucky more kids were not shot as a result of the officer's reckless actions.”
The Des Plaines Police Department has declined to say more about the case, citing pending litigation.