News / Society

Illinois police officer fired after fatally shooting Black man

Sunday, 25 October 2020 9:55 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 26 October 2020 8:58 AM ]

Marcellis Stinnette was shot dead on Tuesday by an Illinois officer. (File photo)

An Illinois officer has been fired after opening fire on an unarmed Black couple, killing the man and injuring the woman.

The shooting happened on Tuesday evening when 19-year old Marcellis Stinnette and 20-year-old Tafara Williams were inside their car in Waukegan.

According to Stinnette’s family, the man died at the scene, but police said he died at the hospital.

Williams, who was shot in the stomach and hand, remains hospitalized.

"Why did you shoot? I didn't do nothing wrong. I have a license. You didn't tell me I was under arrest. Why did you just flame up my car like that? Why did you shoot?," Williams asked from her hospital bed.

"When I got there, she said, "Mama, they just shot us for nothing," said Clifftina Johnson, mother of Williams. "My daughter said she put her hand up, and if she didn't put her hand up, she said, 'Mama, I would be dead.'"

According to authorities, the incident started after police received a report of a suspicious vehicle near Liberty and Oak just before midnight, while families maintained the couple was simply sitting inside their car outside her mother's home.

Police also said the car drove off when an officer went to investigate. However, moments later, another officer, who spotted the car somewhere else, approached on foot, but the car reversed and the officer fired his pistol out of "fear for his safety."

"The police officer got out of the car. When he told them to stop, he told her to stop, she was scared. She put up her hands, she started yelling, 'Why you got a gun?' She started screaming. He just started shooting," said Darrell Mosier, a witness.

Meanwhile, Johnson said Williams handed over her license and listened to the officer's directions.

"I heard the girl. Her hands went up. She said, 'I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I didn't mean it. I didn't try to run you over. We got no guns or nothing,'" Mosier added during a protest in Waukegan on Thursday.

Men, women and children marched through the city to demand justice for Williams and Stinnette, walking with fists raised and chanting "Black lives matter."

Demonstrators protest the October 20, police shooting that led to the death of Marcellis Stinnette. (AFP photo)

"Say his name! Marcellis Stinnette! What's her name? Tafara Williams," the group chanted, according to livestreams of the march posted to social media.

The officer was a five-year member of the department and is Hispanic. He was sacked Friday night "for multiple policy and procedure violations," Department Commander Edgar Navarro said in a press release.

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