Joliet Police Shooting: Here's Where Things Stand

JOLIET, IL - The death of Joliet bank robbery suspect Bruce W. Carter Jr. at a house on Joliet's southeast side marked the first time in four years that a Joliet Police officer killed someone. The investigation into the fatal shooting is being led by the Will-Grundy County Major Crimes Task Force, overseen by Romeoville's Deputy Chief of Police Kenneth Kroll.

Here's an overview of the case at this point, based on what we know and don't know:

Where did the bank robbery occur in relation to the police shooting?

The bank robbery occurred at 9:28 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 6 at the First Midwest Bank, 1415 W. Jefferson St. Later that morning, Carter was shot by police at his mother's house at the corner of Wallace and Des Plaines streets, about two blocks south of the Joliet Police Station. According to Google Maps, it's a five-minute drive and exactly two miles from the bank to the house on Des Plaines, if you travel over the Jefferson Street Bridge heading east.

Did Bruce Carter have an extensive criminal history?

No, he did not. However, when Carter was 18, back in February 1999, he was arrested on felony charges of armed robbery. At the time of the crime, Carter had an address on Murphy Drive in Romeoville. He was represented by Joliet lawyer George Lenard and pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of robbery the following month. He was sentenced to two years of court probation, and sentenced to time served for the 10 days he already served in jail. As part of his sentence, Carter was ordered to obtain his GED but not ordered to pay restitution. Aside from a conservation violation for not having a fishing license in 2001, Carter has not been arrested nor charged with any crimes in Will County, or elsewhere, since he pleaded guilty to robbery in 1999.

What have the police said so far about the deadly shooting?

On Wednesday, Joliet's Police Department, led by Chief Al Roechner, issued a press release shortly before 5 p.m. explaining that officers went to the house on Des Plaines Street "as part of a follow-up investigation to a bank robbery ... On Des Plaines, an officer became engaged with an armed adult male. The officer was forced to defend himself, the armed adult male was shot by the officer ..."

On Thursday evening, Romeoville's deputy chief of police Kenneth Kroll issued a follow-up press release explaining the Will-Grundy Major Crimes Task Force was activated to investigate the Joliet shooting since it involved a Joliet Police officer. Kroll's press release was more precise than the press release put out by Joliet Police the previous day. "The Joliet Police went to this residence while investigating a bank robbery that occurred earlier in the day. Police were speaking with Bruce Carter, when according to a witness, and corroborated by physical evidence, a physical struggle ensued near the front porch of the residence. Mr. Carter was armed with a box-cutter style razor knife during this struggle. The officer discharged his firearm, striking Mr. Carter."

Was the officer who shot Carter familiar with him or the location?

That information is being kept under wraps by the police at this stage. The Romeoville deputy chief's press statement reads: "The officer's name is being withheld pending completion of this investigation."

Was the shooting justified?

That appears to be the case, though there has not been an official ruling. A 2018 article in the Chicago Sun-Times explained the police are justified to use deadly force in Illinois “when (the officer) reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or such other person." The newspaper article went on to state that "the law also requires either that the person 'has committed or attempted a forcible felony which involves the infliction or threatened infliction of great bodily harm,' or 'is attempting to escape by use of a deadly weapon,' or 'indicates that he will endanger human life or inflict great bodily harm unless arrested without delay.'”

On Friday night, Chief Roechner issued a statement on Facebook and part of his statement read: "Two of our brave officers went to the home of a suspected bank robber. While they were speaking with a female inside the home, the suspected bank robber engaged and attacked one of our officers while holding a box cutter type knife. Fearing for his life and the lives around him, the officer was forced to act and shot the suspect in order to stop the threat."

On Wednesday, Carter died at 11:55 a.m. at the Emergency Room for St. Joe's hospital. The coroner's office said he was shot multiple times. He was 38.

Has the bank robbery investigation been closed? The Federal Bureau of Investigation branch in Chicago is overseeing the case and FBI officials posted two images of the bank robbery suspect on social media, including the FBI's Twitter account. The FBI press release indicated there was a $1,000 cash reward leading to the robber's capture. However, the FBI has not issued an update or confirmed that Carter was indeed the bank robber. Joliet Patch left a voicemail message with the FBI's press office on Wednesday, but it was not returned. On Sunday night, Patch noticed the FBI's photos now classify the bank robber as being "CAPTURED," but the FBI's website still does not identify the man or say how he was captured.

Despite the confusion caused by the FBI's ambiguous press release, people familiar with the investigation have told Patch that authorities are not looking for anybody else in connection with the First Midwest bank robbery because Carter is believed to be the lone culprit.

When was the last time Joliet Police used deadly force?

March 2, 2015. On a Monday afternoon, Joliet Police responded to a house burglary in the 100 block of Mississippi Avenue, on the city's east side. Two young men, Shaquille Barrow, 20, and 21-year-old Shawn M. Miller were stopped for questioning, but Barrow chose to run after the officer saw the butt of a handgun sticking out of Barrow's waistband/pocket area, Patch reported in 2015. The shooting happened near Richards Street and 1st Avenue.

"The officer drew his Taser and ordered the suspect not to move at which time the suspect fled from the officer. As the officer gave chase and ordered the suspect to halt, he observed the suspect retrieving the handgun from his pocket at which time the officer fired out of fear for his safety and the safety of others in the area," Joliet Police announced at the time. The burglar was shot twice and died the next day at St. Joe's hospital. A loaded .357 magnum was recovered from Barrow at the scene.

A month after the shooting, the Will County State's Attorney's Office announced that Joliet Officer Dennis Carroll was justified to use deadly force against Barrow.

Did the Barrow case involve litigation?

Yes, that December, Loleta Barrow-Hines filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Joliet and Carroll, however, the mother's lawsuit against Joliet was not successful. In September 2017, the lawyers for the plaintiff informed Will County's judges that they were dismissing their lawsuit. The case was never re-filed, court records show.

Main photo image of the Joliet First Midwest Bank robber via Chicago's FBI Office