Authorities in Illinois have released bodycam footage captured during a horrifying domestic incident this spring which began with a brutal knifing and ended with a police officer firing a fatal shot that killed both the 57-year-old suspect and a 4-year-old boy he was using as a human shield.
The heavily-edited video, which features narration throughout and came with a content warning from the Macomb Police Department, was made public on Monday.
The release followed the conclusion of an investigation by the Illinois State Police and a review by the McDonough County State’s Attorney, which announced last week it would not be filing criminal charges against either of the cops involved.
At a protest on Monday, the child’s grieving mother — who was stabbed more than 20 times by her ex-boyfriend, Anthony George, in the attack — said she didn’t think the police should have pulled their guns to stop the violence.
“They could’ve done anything besides use their weapon,” 36-year-old Keianna Miller said, 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.”
The deadly encounter took place March 16 at about 10:15 p.m, when Macomb Lt. Nick Goc, a onetime “Officer of the Year”, and Officer Korri Cameron responded to a domestic disturbance call at an apartment building in town. The bodycam video, released on Monday, shows blood smeared on the walls of a stairwell, as a woman screamed from inside one of the residences, “He’s stabbing me!”
Goc and Cameron force their way inside and find George, armed with a knife, along with a bloodied, frantic Miller. She then runs into the apartment’s living room as her young son, Terrell, can be heard yelling in the background.
“The officer orders the female with injuries out of the home to safety,” the narrator says over the bodycam footage. “What happens next transpires in a matter of seconds.”
George briefly disappears from view, then reemerges with Terrell and a second knife.
As Miller pleads for help, the officers order George, who had picked up Terrell and was holding one of the knives to his neck, to drop the weapons, the footage shows. When George refused, Goc fired once, killing Terrell as well as George.
Miller would later tell WGEM that George had become enraged over their breakup, telling her that if he couldn’t have her, “nobody can.”
Miller’s attorney, Marleen Suarez, said she plans to file a civil lawsuit against the police department by the end of next week.
The Macomb PD said its decision to release the bodycam footage was “supported by our commitment to transparency,” while its “hearts and thoughts remain with the families affected by this tragedy.”
The department’s internal investigation is ongoing.
