State’s Attorney determines shooting of man outside Rockford Casino was justified

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Winnebago County State’s Attorney J. Hanley has determined that officers were justified in their use of deadly force in May when they shot a 51-year-old man outside of the Rockford Casino.

Bradley James Thompkins was shot May 28 after he refused deputies’ and officers’ commands to drop a handgun he was wielding in the parking lot of the casino. He had fired a shot in the air and pointed the weapon at his own head before officers opened fire when he lowered his gun in their direction, body-worn camera video of the shooting showed.

Thompkins died from his injuries about a month later.

Hanley released a nine-page document to reporters on Thursday that detailed the facts of the case and the explanation for his decision not to charge Rockford police officers Dion Embrey and Jordan Black and Winnebago County Sheriff’s Deputy Giorgi Arbisi, who all fired shots at Thompkins.

“Despite multiple commands to drop his gun, Thompkins failed to do so. Further, Thompkins continued to move towards Deputy Arbisi after being told to back up,” Hanley wrote. “Thompkins also fired one round into the air, demonstrating the willingness and ability to fire his gun.” 

Previously: Police release dash-cam, body-worn video of shooting outside Rockford Casino

The shooting was investigated by the Winnebago Boone County Integrity Task Force, a coalition of 15 law enforcement agencies from around the region that are called on to independently review uses of deadly force by police. Their findings were turned over to Hanley, who makes the decision whether criminal charges against police are warranted.

“Officers may respond to deadly force with deadly force,” Hanley wrote. “Additionally, based upon the distance between Thompkins and the officers, the presence of numerous civilians, and how quickly the incident happened, officers were justified in firing at Thompkins.” 

Hanley’s report said that Embrey fired six times at Thompkins and Black fired one round from his rifle. Arbisi fired 10 rounds.

“Paramedics observed four gunshot wounds to Thompkins body, specifically three on his torso and one on his left leg,” Hanley wrote. “During the autopsy, two projectiles (bullets) were recovered from Thompkins body. It is not clear which officers shot Thompkins.”

Hanley said that Thompkins did not have a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification card for the handgun because it had been revoked after a prior conviction.

Read the report

You can read State’s Attorney J. Hanley’s report on the shooting here.

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas.