EAST MOLINE, Ill. — Update 1:13 p.m. Tuesday, May 21: The East Moline Police Department has identified the police officers involved in the Friday shooting.
Lt. Dustin Edkin and Officer Garrett Kistner were the officers involved in the confrontation on May 17. Edkin has been with the department for 20 years and Kistner for 16 years. Police Chief Jeff Ramsey said on Friday that the two officers have been placed on administrative leave as the investigation takes place, which Ramsey said is common protocol.
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An 80-year-old man who was shot by police during a confrontation Friday in East Moline has died from his injuries, officials confirmed Tuesday.
According to Moline Police Chief Darren Gault, who serves as Public Information Officer for the Rock Island County Integrity Task Force, the man passed away overnight at a Peoria hospital. An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday morning and the Peoria County Coroner plans to release the man's identity later in the day. Gault said under state law, the coroner has jurisdiction over the name of the deceased.
The incident occurred around 2:17 p.m. Friday, May 17 at the Hometown Harbor Apartment Complex on 49th Avenue in East Moline. According to Gault, an employee at the complex reported a resident had fired their handgun. The caller said the man walked down 49th Avenue to the backside of the apartment complex. Two East Moline police officers responded to the scene at 2:24 p.m.
Gault said a confrontation occurred, during which one or more of the officers discharged their weapons and shot the man. Officials say the man was armed with a handgun that was retrieved at the scene. Officers say they administered first aid until EMS arrived at 2:30 p.m.
This was not police's first encounter with the 80-year-old man. Gault confirmed that on May 16, the day before the shooting, East Moline Police responded to the complex after the man got into an argument and physical struggle with a maintenance man at the facility.
The Rock Island County Integrity Task Force and Rock Island County State's Attorney Dora Villarreal are reviewing in-car and body camera video of the incident, according to a Friday press release from the task force.
Once the task force's investigation is complete, the State's Attorney will decide if the East Moline officers' actions were lawful. Gault said East Moline officers will not be participating in this investigation.
East Moline Police Chief Jeff Ramsey is handling the internal investigation. He asked the task force to respond immediately after the incident.
The two officers involved have been placed on administrative leave, which Ramsey said is common protocol during this type of investigation, according to a press release from the East Moline Police Department.
No other updates on the investigation were made available Tuesday.
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