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Flossmoor releases incident report from police shooting of Madeline Miller

The Flossmoor Police Department on Monday, Aug. 15, released a redacted incident report describing the encounter between Madeline Miller and two Flossmoor officers. Miller was shot and killed by the officers as she approached them with a knife on July 10.

The names of the officers and two other residents in the home on Joyce Drive at the time of the incident are obscured in the public version of the report.

Flossmoor Police Chief Tod Kamleiter posted a statement online and read it at the Board of Trustees meeting Monday evening noting that the names were redacted because the Illinois State Police (ISP) Public Integrity Task Force investigation of the incident is not yet complete.

Kamleiter said all the department’s reports on the incident had been submitted to ISP and to Miller’s family before being released to the public.

The report adds a few new details to a summary of the incident that was released by police on July 13. According to the summary and police bodycam video released by the village, officers heard shouting as they approached the home.

An elderly woman using a walker answered the door, then quickly moved aside. Another woman ran down a hallway toward police screaming for help. She veered into an adjacent room and Miller appeared, running toward officers.

As the officer backed out of the doorway, Miller continued to run toward him, ignoring orders to drop the knife. After she emerged from the home, an officer fired one shot, and when she continued forward without dropping the knife, two more shots were fired, striking her in the torso.

The report was submitted by N. Kausal, identified as the reporting detective. Kausal responded to the scene after the shooting and spoke with the two women who were in the home at the time.

One of the two women told Kausal that she believed Miller had psychological issues. She said her side hurt and that she had been injured in an altercation prior to the arrival of police. She was later transported to a local hospital for treatment.

The woman also told the detective that there was interior home surveillance video that recorded the altercation. That recording has not been released to the public, although bodycam video from responding officers has been made public.

Kamleiter said in his statement: “The two officers responded in accordance with the Flossmoor Police Department’s use of force policy, given the immediate danger in the home and the brandishing of a deadly weapon.

“We are confident the independent investigation will confirm our beliefs. It is the opinion of the Flossmoor Police Department that our officers responded in a manner, as they were trained, to protect the multiple lives that were in danger. Our support is with the officers who were faced with making a difficult, but necessary decision to use force during this tragic incident.”

Protesters, including Miller’s siblings and other relatives, have rallied at each of the past three village board meetings, most arguing that in spite of Miller’s behavior, officers should have used other means to de-escalate the situation and attempt to apprehend her without firing their weapons.

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