Prosecutors announced this week that Illinois State Police officers who shot and killed a chainsaw wielding man in a nursing home would not face charges.
According to CBS News, Daniel H. Escalella was shot dead in a nursing home in St. Charles, Illinois on December 1st, shaking his wife around and asking her. The 41-year-old is from Stockwell, Indiana, about 176 miles from the outskirts of West Chicago, and the outlet reports that it still doesn't understand why authorities are in Illinois nursing homes.
“Authors have investigated audio and video recordings of body-worn cameras, statements from witnesses, physical evidence from the shooting scene, and autopsy results,” the Kane County State Law Office said in a press release this week.
“Based on that investigation, the state's attorney's office has not found any fraud on the part of the officers and the review of the matter is now considered to be closed.”
An eyewitness called 911 after Escalella enters the senior living home with a chainsaw. Body camera footage shows his aide pulling out a taser when he encountered Escalella wielding a chainsaw as he entered the cafeteria with multiple elderly residents.
Escalella was “temporarily knocked down” by Tazer, but then returned, grabbed a chainsaw and ran the officer who shot him with the device, the state attorney's office said. The officers evade the cafeteria and return to the lobby to reorganize with another officer, and they try to confront Escalella once more.
Escalella then “put a chainsaw on her head and charged at the officers,” the state attorney's office says. One of the officers then shot Escalella twice, missing both. The third shot hit Escalella in his left arm as he escaped from the room.
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“As he reached the hallway, Escalella stopped in a wheelchair right next to an elderly resident, and placed her hands in front of the officers in a position that appeared to mimic holding a firearm,” a press release from the state office continued. “The officer fired a fourth shot of an escalella in the chest.”
The fourth shot proved deadly, and officials say Escalella was declared dead at nearby Dellner Hospital.
A report from toxicology shows that Escalella is “present in amphetamines, methamphetamines and olanzapines” in his system, according to the state attorney's office. Olanzapine is a drug used to treat the symptoms of schizophrenia.
The state's attorney's office concluded that Officer St. Charles had a reasonable belief that the deadly force he had hired was necessary to prevent death or any major harm to himself or other individuals.
“In recognition of the tragic loss of life and expressing sadness to Mr. Escalella's family, my office has concluded an investigation into the matter,” says Kane County State attorney Jamie L. Modder.
