Cop Who Shot Teen In Back Did Not Use Excessive Force, Jury Finds

CHICAGO — A federal jury Thursday found Zion police officer did not use excessive force when he fatally shot a fleeing teen nearly three years ago. After a roughly weeklong trial at the Dirksen Federal Building, jurors rejected arguments from lawyers for the family of the late 17-year-old that he was not a threat and was not holding the gun that was found at the scene.

Officer Eric Hill, 35, shot Justus Howell twice in the back on April 4, 2015 as the teen ran through a residential Zion neighborhood. A year later, Howell's grandmother brought a federal civil lawsuit against Hill and the city on her late grandson's behalf.

The suit alleged the officer used excessive force by in fatal shooting and the city, as his employer, was also responsible. Hill and the city argued that the officer had a reasonable belief that it was necessary to shoot Howell to prevent imminent harm to himself or others.

According to investigators, the incident that led to Howell's shooting started when he got into a struggle with a Lindenhurst teen from whom he had arranged a deal to buy the silver 9mm handgun that was later found near his body. Howell allegedly stole the gun, and the other man told police Howell fired a shot, which drew police to the scene.

After a brief foot chase, Hill said the teen turned and pointed a gun at him. Howell was found shot near 24th Street and Gailee Avenue and pronounced dead at a nearby hospital that day, according to the Lake County Coroner.

At the trial, Hill testified a gun fell out of Howell's hands after the shooting, according to the Lake County News-Sun.

Lawyers for Howell's family said the officer pulled the gun from Howell's pants after shooting him and lied about seeing it in his hands.

A ballistics expert called by the plaintiffs said that the two gunshot wounds through the teen's back were inconsistent with Hill's account of the incident, according to the Lake County News-Sun.

"We are disappointed in the jury’s verdict, but we appreciate the jury’s careful consideration of the evidence in a case that was difficult for all involved," Megan Cunniff Church, one of Howell's attorneys, said Thursday.

The verdict that Hill had not used unreasonable force agreed with the determination Lake County State's Attorney Mike Nerheim, who said the shooting had not been a crime less than six weeks after it occurred.

The deadly encounter was captured on grainy surveillance video, and Nerheim said it showed the teen was holding a gun and about to turn toward Hill when the fatal pair of shots were fired through his back. An autopsy found one bullet had penetrated Howell's spleen, liver and heart.

Nerheim announced in May 2015 that an investigation by the Lake County Major Crime Task Force found the homicide had been justifiable. He released surveillance video and said it showed Howell was "armed and dangerous" when he was shot and that Hill had acted reasonably.

Hill "provided Howell ample opportunity to drop the weapon and only fired the weapon when he felt that his life and the life of his fellow officer was in danger," Nerheim said.

Hill's lawyer said his client, an officer with the Zion Police Department since 2005, obeyed his training and acted properly, according to the News-Sun.

» More: Records and media from the Lake County Major Crime Task Force and Lake County State's Attorney's Office's investigations into the 2015 fatal shooting of Justus Howell by Officer Eric Hill

Two other police shooting lawsuits – over the 2016 killing of Charles Hollstein and non-fatal shooting Devon Davidson in separate incidents – have been filed against Zion since Howell's death.

Last November, the News-Sun reported the Zion City Council approved a one-year trial program to provide its 42-member police force with body-worn cameras.

» Read more: Death of Teen Shot in the Back by Zion Police Ruled a Homicide by Lake County Coroner