Fatal shooting involving Chillicothe police officer ruled justified by state's attorney

PEORIA (25News Now) – The Peoria County State's Attorney says an officer-involved shooting in February that left Marvin Martin III dead was justified.

In the report, State's Attorney Jodi Hoos says the evidence is “clear” that the Chillicothe police officer was legally justified in the shooting. The officer was investigating a misdemeanor charge of unlawful possession of a stolen motor vehicle.

Hoos says the officer gave Martin commands and tried to answer his questions when he raised his gun and shot the officer at point-blank range – one bullet hitting the officer in his body armor. balls and another in his hand.

Video of the incident around 10:20 p.m. on Feb. 13 shows Martin shooting first, according to the report. The video shows the officer's body falling back after the first shot, and the report says the officer was shot in his vest.

“This was a clear act of self-defense on the part of the Chillicothe police officer,” the report states. “Without the grace of God – and a bulletproof vest – Mr. Martin would have killed him.”

In February, a Chillicothe police officer was investigating a report of a stolen motor vehicle and received a message from a license plate reader of a stolen 2018 Honda CR-V traveling to Chillicothe.

The vehicle, reported stolen on Feb. 4, was found parking in a driveway of a home in the 600 block of West Matthews Street. The state's attorney's report says a Smith & Wesson 9mm handgun was inside the center console when the SUV was stolen.

After arresting Martin, the officer ordered him, “Turn off your car.” Let me see your hands. The report states that Martin was sitting sideways in the driver's seat, facing outward, with his feet on the ground, as if he was getting ready to get out of the car, asking the officer, “What's the problem?” The officer continued to approach and replied, “Well, according to the computer, this vehicle is reported stolen.”»

With just a few feet separating them, the report says Martin immediately raised a handgun and fired several times. The officer, feeling a bullet strike his body armor, stood back while raising his Glock 40 service weapon and fired several times in Martin's direction, according to the report.

Once other officers arrived, they approached Martin who was now slumped in the driver's seat with an apparent gunshot wound. He was removed from the SUV and thrown to the ground to begin lifesaving measures. The report states that once Martin was on the ground, a black Smith & Wesson 9mm handgun was found on the floor of the driver's seat where he was seated.

The police officer, who suffered a gunshot wound to the hand, was taken to hospital for treatment. A bullet was recovered from the chest plate of the officer's body armor. The report says lab results confirmed the bullet was fired by the Smith & Wesson found on the driver's side floorboard.

The report states officers at the crime scene found five 9mm cartridge cases in and around the Honda CR-V. The 9mm casings were also fired from the Smith & Wesson recovered at Martin's feet. Crime scene officers recovered the subject officer's service weapon, a Glock 40 caliber. They located six .40 caliber shell casings fired from the officer's service weapon in the area where he was was removed.

The report states there were no other witnesses to the incident, but the entire encounter between the officer and Martin was recorded on the officer's body camera, the patrol car camera and on a nearby surveillance camera. These recordings captured both audio and video of the incident.

Martin's autopsy shows he had a blood alcohol level of 0.173, more than twice the legal limit, according to the report.

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