Dec. 09--A Lisle police officer will not face charges in the fatal shooting of a man trying to break into a home, according to DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin, who called the officer's actions "completely justified."
Berlin released a statement Tuesday saying that an investigation by his office has cleared the Lisle officer who fatally shot Anthony Aguilar, 35, on Oct. 10, as Aguilar tried to forcibly enter a home in the 4400 block of Yender Avenue.
Berlin said Aguilar was warned by police who had responded to a 911 call to put his hands up, but he threw a claw hammer at them with his left hand.
After one officer loaded a Taser, Aguilar assumed what police described as a shooting stance with an object visible in his right hand, Berlin said.
He pointed the object at the officer with the Taser, who fired the Taser but missed. Aguilar pointed at a second officer and then again at the first officer, at which time the second officer fired his pistol twice, striking Aguilar once, Berlin said.
The object Aguilar was holding turned out to be a metallic scraper with a black handle, but Berlin said that given the circumstances he believed it was reasonable for the officer to believe Aguilar was armed with a gun.
"Given the violent actions of Aguilar, his refusal to obey repeated police commands along with his actions of pointing the metal scraper ... the officer who discharged his weapon acted lawfully and was justified in using deadly force in order to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself, the other officers or the homeowner," Berlin said.
Attempts to reach Aguilar's family were unsuccessful.
Three Lisle officers responded to the homeowner's 911 call of an attempted break-in at her house about 5:10 a.m., according to police.
The homeowner, 59, was alone and in the 911 recording she is heard telling the dispatch officer, "My God in heaven, he is here" and "I'm sorry but I've never been this scared before," officials said.
Officers said they found Aguilar trying to forcibly enter the house, banging on the door and holding two unidentified objects in his hands.
Berlin said that the officers could be heard on recordings ordering Aguilar 10 times to stop, telling him "put your hands up." The police officers' squad car cameras were on but not positioned to capture the incident, but the officers' commands could be heard on the audio portion, Berlin said.
The video footage from three squad cars was made public on the village's website Tuesday. All three cameras captured the sound of two gunshots, but one recorded officers repeatedly shouting at the man for about 20 seconds before the shots were fired.
"Let me see your hands! Both of them!" one of the officers yells, repeating similar orders until he stops mid-sentence and shouts something unintelligible. Gunshots followed a split second later.
After he was shot, Aguilar continued to struggle with officers, Berlin said.
According to a copy of the police radio traffic, an officer reports that shots were fired and repeatedly requests paramedics.
"You got the medics coming?" an officer asks the dispatcher.
"Yes," the dispatcher responds. "Medics are en route. Is it secure when they get there or no?"
"Just get 'em here," the officer says.
"Hang with me, dude," the officer says, apparently to Aguilar.
Aguilar was transported to a hospital but died about an hour later, according to authorities. An autopsy revealed that he had THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, in his system.
An investigation indicated that Aguilar tried to kick in both the front and back doors of the house, and that he had broken into the detached garage and smashed out all but one window of the homeowner's car, Berlin said.
Berlin's investigation came in the wake of controversial disclosures in recent weeks about two high-profile police shootings in Chicago, including one in which an officer was charged with murder.
Berlin said every officer-involved shooting requires thorough investigation.
"Such scrutiny is required to ensure the protection of the civil rights of those involved and to maintain the public's confidence in law enforcement," Berlin said.
Clifford Ward is a freelance reporter. Matthew Walberg is a Tribune reporter.
