On April 27 at approximately , police went to
1810 Church St.in response to 911 emergency calls regarding a dispute between two individuals, including one who was armed with a knife, said Commander Tom Guenther, public information officer of the Evanston Police Department.
Upon arrival police officers learned that a “highly aggressive individual armed with a knife had made threats against subjects present at the building,” said Cmdr. Guenther. Officers entered the building and observed the man was armed with a knife, said Cmdr. Guenther. “Officers gave numerous verbal commands instructing the offender to drop the knife, all of which were ignored” by the man, said Cmdr. Guenther.
The man “remained noncompliant and escalated the situation when he made acts of deliberate aggression toward the officers,” said the commander. “At this time, officers were forced to act in defense of themselves, by employing their service weapons, which resulted in the death” of the man.
Cmdr. Guenther said during the confrontation with the man, one of the police officers sustained a serious injury to his hand and underwent surgery at a local hospital. Two other officers were taken to a local hospital for evaluation, were treated and released.
A spokesman for the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office told the RoundTable that the official cause of death of the man, Desrick York, 32 years old, was “multiple gun shot wounds.”
The Illinois State Police Public Integrity Task Force is investigating the incident, which is customary practice when there is an officer-involved shooting and an objective investigation is needed, said Cmdr. Guenther. He said Evanston police are not at liberty to comment on the incident until the State Police have completed their investigation, which may take three to four weeks. He said a statement will be issued when the State Police and Evanston police complete their investigations.
The incident occurred near the convergence of the Fifth and Second wards. Fifth Ward Alderman Delores Holmes said she was in church when the events occurred and went to the site afterward. “I’m concerned that [violence] is occurring so early [in the warm weather], ” she said. Second Ward Alderman Lionel Jean-Baptiste told the RoundTable he did not wish to comment, saying in was in conversation with Police Chief Richard Eddington about the matter.