No Charges In Champaign Officer-Involved Shooting
A screenshot of Champaign Police dashboard camera video from June 11, 2017. Champaign Police Department
A Champaign police officer will not face criminal charges stemming from a June 11th shooting that injured a 22-year old man.
Officer James Hobson shot Dehari Banks, who was unarmed, after Banks fled on foot during an attempted traffic stop. Hobson says he accidentally fired his weapon while trying to apprehend Banks.
In a letter to Police Chief Anthony Cobb, Champaign County State’s Attorney Julia Rietz says that after reviewing the evidence, “there is no basis for criminal charges” in the case.
The police department has released dashboard camera footage of the incident. You can hear a gunshot on the recording at the 1:20 mark, but it happens off camera. You can watch the full video here, which does contain expletives.
The Illinois State Police led a multi-jurisdictional investigation of the incident. Champaign Police will conduct their own internal investigation, after which Cobb will complete a final review. He will hand down any discipline to Hobson.
The letter from Rietz to Cobb is below.
Links
- UPDATE: Champaign Council Votes To Create Police Review Board.
- Champaign City Council Gives Initial Approval To Police Review Panel
- Champaign Council Signs Off On Plan For Citizen Review Of Police
- Champaign City Council Considers Proposals For Citizen Review Of Police Complaints
- Champaign Council Unanimously Backs Body Cams For Police
- Champaign City Council To Consider Police Bodycams
- Champaign Council Approves Formation Of Panel To Study Citizen Police Review Board
- Champaign Fires Officer Matt Rush A Second Time