Illinois authorities have made public bodycam footage from a horrific domestic incident that happened this spring. It started with a vicious knife attack and concluded with a police officer shooting the 57-year-old defendant and the 4-year-old son he was using as a human shield.
The Macomb Police Department issued a content warning for the carefully edited film, which includes narration throughout, and it was released to the public on Monday.
Following the completion of an Illinois State Police investigation and an evaluation by the McDonough County State’s Attorney, who declared last week that it would not be pursuing criminal charges against either of the participating cops, the release occurred.
The child’s distraught mother, who was attacked by her ex-boyfriend Anthony George and stabbed more than 20 times, expressed her opinion that the police shouldn’t have used force to put an end to the violence at a protest on Monday.
“They could’ve done anything besides use their weapon,” 36-year-old Keianna Miller stated, according to WGEM radio. “They had Tasers, they had pepper spray, they had all these non-lethal ways to get Anthony George and they decided not to do it.”
When Macomb Lt. Nick Goc, a former “Officer of the Year,” and Officer Korri Cameron went to a domestic disturbance call at a town apartment complex on March 16 at approximately 10:15 p.m., a deadly incident occurred.
Blood is seen smeared on the stairway walls in the bodycam footage, which was made public on Monday. A lady can be heard screaming, “He’s stabbing me!” from inside one of the houses.
Goc and Cameron break through the door and discover George with a knife and a distraught, bleeding Miller. The sound of her little boy Terrell yelling can be heard in the background as she dashes into the apartment’s living room.
Over the bodycam footage, the narrator says, “The officer orders the female with injuries out of the home to safety. What happens next transpires in a matter of seconds.”
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After vanishing from sight for a moment, George reappears holding Terrell and another knife.
The video shows the officers telling George to put down the weapons after he had scooped up Terrell and was holding one of the knives to his neck while Miller begs for assistance. Goc shot George once for refusing, killing both Terrell and George.
By the end of next week, Miller’s attorney, Marleen Suarez, intends to launch a civil complaint against the police department. The Macomb Police Department stated that while its “hearts and thoughts remain with the families affected by this tragedy,” its decision to share the bodycam footage was “supported by our commitment to transparency.”
An internal inquiry by the department is still underway.
