Dec. 03--New documents and video released about the fatal shooting of a man by police at NorthShore Highland Park Hospital show the night's conclusion was presaged by the man's apparent defiance of authority and intoxication earlier that night.
Hours before the Nov. 3 shooting that would leave Christopher Anderson dead, the Waukegan man alternately pleaded with and yelled at Illinois state troopers and paramedics, saying he didn't want them to touch his 9-year-old daughter, despite her need for medical attention, according to statements given later to investigators by those present.
Anderson, 27, and his daughter had suffered minor injuries in a car crash on the Edens Expressway late in the evening on Nov. 2. The driver was charged with drunken driving and other offenses.
Anderson also "attempted to push" a state trooper "out of the way" at one point when the officer attempted to check on the girl, according to a police report.
The documents also show that paramedics at the scene of the crash asked state troopers if Anderson had been checked for weapons at the scene, but he apparently was not.
About two hours later, in the emergency room, Anderson drew a handgun from his waistband after growing increasingly agitated with hospital staff members and refused to drop the weapon, officials have said. Called to the hospital earlier to attempt to calm Anderson, Highland Park police Officers Brian Reif and Kevin Roberts shot him after authorities said repeated warnings to drop the gun weren't heeded, according to the officers' interviews with investigators from the Lake County Major Crime Task Force.
The Lake County State's Attorney's office later determined the shooting to be justified according to protocol.
In interviews with investigators, both officers described feeling trapped in close proximity to Anderson.
"(Reif) said he not only feared for his life but he feared for the life of every other person inside the emergency room," according to a description of Reif's interview with investigators. "He felt at any moment Christopher was going to turn toward him and begin shooting."
Hundreds of pages of documents pertaining to the lead-up to the shooting, newly acquired by the Tribune through a Freedom of Information request, reveal for the first time that Anderson was already said to have been acting belligerently long before he got to the hospital.
At the crash site, State Police Trooper Christopher Lambert approached the vehicle, which had sustained heavy front end damage and had smoke coming from the radiator, according to his accident report narrative.
Lambert tried to check on the girl when Anderson intervened and "attempted to push" Lambert, the officer said in his report.
When paramedics attempted to help the girl later, according to Lambert's report, Anderson said: "No one is going to touch my ... daughter."
In grainy video recorded from a state trooper's squad car camera at the crash scene, Anderson can be heard at times taking a more pleading tone.
"My daughter is everything to me," he said.
Police found two cups smelling of alcohol in the car and a bottle of brandy nearby believed to have been thrown from the vehicle, according to the accident report.
Before taking Anderson and his daughter to the hospital in an ambulance, paramedics with the Deerfield-Bannockburn Fire Protection District had asked state troopers whether Anderson "had been checked or frisked for weapons for the safety of the paramedics," according to the task force interview with the fire district first responders.
"The fire department personnel thought that Christopher was acting strangely regarding the treatment of his daughter, who had obviously sustained injuries from the traffic crash, and didn't know if it was due to his intoxication," according to the task force interview of fire district personnel.
He was not frisked, according to the task force report.
Eventually, Anderson allowed the paramedics to provide treatment for his daughter and bandage his hand, which had been injured in the crash. But later, according to multiple task force interviews, Anderson declined further medical treatment.
At the scene of the accident, a state trooper can be heard on video describing Anderson's apparent intoxication. Hours later at the hospital, medical staff also determined him to be intoxicated, according to their interviews with investigators, based on their observations and statements made by Anderson.
Once in the hospital emergency room, a doctor informed Anderson he was too intoxicated to refuse medical treatment and needed to be examined, according to the task force interview with the doctor.
After Anderson refused to change into a hospital gown, the doctor ordered the nurses to administer a sedative to calm him down, according to the task force interviews with medical staff. When a nurse approached with a syringe, and security and police officers entered his room, Anderson drew his gun, according to accounts given to investigators by those present.
Surveillance video taken in the emergency department outside of Anderson's room show officers with weapons drawn as medical personnel flee the room. Officials have said witnesses reported that officers commanded him to drop the weapon several times for at least 45 seconds before he was shot multiple times.
The hospital's medical staff tended to Anderson's gunshot wounds and tried to save his life, but he was pronounced dead a short time later, officials said.
gtrotter@tribpub.com
Twitter @NorthShoreTrib
