Officer Gave Security Guard ‘Multiple Verbal Commands’ To Drop Gun, Police Now Say

A new statement from the state agency tasked with investigating a white police officer’s fatal shooting of a black security guard in suburban Chicago suggests the officer could not have known the man wasn’t a threat.

Jemel Roberson, 26, was armed and working security at Manny’s Blue Room in the village of Robbins around 4 a.m. Sunday when a shooting occurred, according to the Cook County Sheriff’s office. Witnesses said Roberson subdued one of the people involved.

In a statement released late Tuesday night, the Illinois State Police said that according to witness statements, an officer from the nearby village of Midlothian gave Roberson “multiple verbal commands to drop the gun and get on the ground before ultimately discharging his weapon and striking the subject.”