Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx won't file criminal charges against a suburban Chicago police officer who accidentally shot a teenager during a shootout with a suspected bank robber, she said Wednesday.
Des Plaines Officer James Armstrong was justified in using deadly force against the bank robber, Christopher Willis, and acted responsibly, Foxx said. Willis died in the shootout.
Rylan Wilder, then 15, was working at a Chicago music store when he was shot Nov. 19, 2019.
Des Plaines Chief of Police David Anderson says Officer James Armstrong was trying to stop a very violent active shooter and he did the best he could under the circumstances.
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“Officer Armstrong acted heroically to stop an active shooter who had just committed multiple forceable felonies and shot a Chicago Police officer prior to entering the music school,” Anderson said in a statement.
An attorney for Wilder’s family, Tim Cavanagh, said he was outraged to learn that no charges would be filed.
“Rylan’s life was changed through no fault of his own due to the reckless actions of the Des Plaines police officer,” Cavanagh said in a statement.
