6 Des Plaines Officers Placed On Paid Leave After Fatal Police Shooting

DES PLAINES, IL — Six Des Plaines police officers have been placed on temporary paid administrative leave following last week’s fatal police shooting of 21-year-old Ayham Babidi, the department confirmed to Patch.

Police stressed that only one of the six officers was directly involved in the shooting.

"As a standard procedure in this type of use of force investigation, the Des Plaines Police Department placed six officers on temporary paid administrative leave," the department said in a statement to Patch.

"Only one of the officers was directly involved in the shooting. The others were at the scene or responded immediately afterward."

Police said the administrative leaves should not be interpreted as findings against any of the officers.

"The investigation is ongoing, and administrative leave does not reflect wrong-doing but allows freedom for the investigation to progress as quickly as possible," the department said.

The new information comes as the Major Crimes Assistance Team continues its independent investigation into the Sept. 9 shooting.

RELATED: Man Killed In Des Plaines Police Shooting Was Armed With Hedge Trimmer: Police

Officers responded at about 2:32 p.m. Sept. 9, to a domestic disturbance in the 2000 block of East Touhy Avenue after dispatchers were told Babidi was acting violently and breaking windows, according to Des Plaines police.

Police said the first officer to arrive encountered Babidi in the front yard holding an electric hedge trimmer. Authorities said Babidi approached the officer while holding the trimmer in what police described as a threatening manner and continued advancing despite repeated commands to drop it.

The officer backed across Touhy Avenue and into oncoming traffic before firing three rounds and striking Babidi, according to police. The officer then provided medical aid until additional officers and Des Plaines Fire Department personnel arrived. Babidi was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, where he died.

The Cook County medical examiner determined Babidi died from multiple gunshot wounds.

Police previously said the shooting was captured by the officer's patrol vehicle dashcam and residential security cameras. The officer's body-worn camera had not been activated before the shooting, which police attributed to the rapid escalation of the encounter.

The department has said the video will not be released while investigators believe doing so could compromise the independent investigation.

The officer who fired the shots has not been publicly identified.

The Daily Herald first reported Wednesday that six officers had been placed on paid administrative leave.