Elgin Police Shoot Man With Rubber Bullet

ELGIN, IL – A man was taken to the hospital for treatment Tuesday afternoon after he threatened to take his own life was shot with a rubber bullet by Elgin police, according to media reports. A witness to the incident told the Daily Herald he saw the man, who appeared to be white and in his late 20s, under the Route 20 bridge along St. Charles Street when a swarm of police cars responded to the area. Police soon were yelling that the man had a gun.

The man had his hands in his pockets and started to walk toward police, who had taken cover near Ray's Family Restaurant, when authorities shot him with the rubber bullet at 3:33 p.m., according to the Daily Herald. Authorities were initially told the man had a gun, but they never found a gun on him.

The incident comes weeks after Decynthia S. Clements, 34, of Elgin, was fatally shot by a veteran Elgin Police Department officer along Interstate 90 during the early morning hours of March 12. During that incident, the Clements was armed with a knife and refused to get out of her car after pulling to the side of I-90 in Elgin. She was also suicidal and possibly had crack cocaine on her at the time, according to authorities.

Prior to Clements' shooting death officers discussed using less-lethal methods, including a 40-mm rubber bullet and, if she got closer, a taser, according to bodycam and squad car video released from the incident. But when the woman's car started on the fire and she came stumbling out with a knife in hand, she was fatally shot by Lt. Christian Jensen, a 19-year Elgin Police Department veteran and current SWAT team member.

Jensen was placed on administrative leave, and the incident remains under investigation by the Illinois State Police.

• Attorneys Question Police Tactics Used In Deadly Shooting On I-90

More on Patch

• Veteran Elgin Cop Shot Woman Following I-90 Standoff: Police
• Video From I-90 Officer-Involved Shooting To Be Released
• WATCH: Press Conference On Elgin Officer-Involved Shooting