ST. LOUIS COUNTY (KMOX) - The Richmond Heights Police officer who shot and killed an armed man after a chase that began at the Saint Louis Galleria will not be charged.
St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell made the announcement on Tuesday about the incident that took place on Aug. 31, 2019. Terry Tillman was shot multiple times by the officer after he "ran full-speed toward the officer holding a gun."
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The investigation was conducted by the St. Louis County Police Department and included audio and video recording from police patrol cars, surveillance videos from the mall, dozens of interviews, and forensic evidence.
“There is nothing that can be done to ease the pain of the family’s loss and the community’s grief,” Bell said. “We will, however, never stop trying to provide support for victims of police violence, to improve community trust in both our office and the police, and to investigate every case with the thoroughness and respect it deserves. We hope that even when we cannot bring charges in a police shooting, the community will know that we conducted a detailed and thorough investigation, just as we would for all victims of violence in this community.”
Bell's officer released a description of the events that led to Tillman's death:
Video evidence demonstrates that on August 31, 2019, Mr. Tillman walked through the Galleria Mall with a high-capacity extended magazine visible in his right waistband. It is not permissible to carry guns in the mall. When two police officers approached Mr. Tillman about his unauthorized weapon, they had a brief conversation that ended when Mr. Tillman fled, running with the gun in his hand. Police chased him, first on foot through the mall, then into the mall parking lot, and then finally across the street into a bank parking lot. Throughout the chase, police ordered Mr. Tillman to stop and drop the gun, but he refused to comply with their orders.
At the bank parking lot, as seen on the video, a Richmond Heights Police officer ran up a set of stairs in pursuit of Mr. Tillman. Mr. Tillman, who had briefly been out of the officer’s line of sight, ran down the stairway directly toward the officer. Video footage shows Mr. Tillman holding the gun and moving within five feet of the officer. As Mr. Tillman ran toward the officer, the officer shot him multiple times. The officer stopped shooting when Mr. Tillman dropped his gun. Efforts to save his life, which were also caught on video, failed. Mr. Tillman died shortly thereafter and was transported to the hospital.
Video of the incident will remain private, per a request by the victim's family.
The officer's name has not been released.
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