“Every case involving the use of deadly force by a police officer must be carefully and thoroughly investigated. Such scrutiny is required to ensure the protection of the civil rights of those involved and to maintain the public’s confidence in law enforcement.”
Those are the beginning words of a statement released by DuPage State’s Attorney Robert Berlin regarding the findings of an investigation into the shooting of Haven Bailey by a Villa Park police officer.
“After a thorough and extensive investigation, … it is my determination that the officer, Sergeant Jose Pagan, who discharged his weapon four times, striking Haven Bailey four times, once in the right chest and three times in the abdomen, was legally justified in his actions and that no criminal charges will be filed against Sgt. Pagan,” Berlin said in his statement.
The incident
On Monday, May 24 at approximately 2:06 a.m., a person, later determined to be Haven Bailey, called 911 and reported that at 261 Kenilworth, “somebody was walking around with a gun.” The DuComm operator asked Bailey to describe the person with the gun, and Bailey stated, “White, they’re in a suit and tie, pretty much looks like it.”
When the operator asked Bailey to describe the gun, Bailey responded, “Looks like a pistol, I’m not sure,” adding, “They already drew it, they pulled it out of their pants, I already saw it.”
It appeared that Bailey then left the conversation but did not hang up. Multiple Villa Park units, including Sgt. Pagan responded to the call.
Sgt. Pagan and another officer were the first on the scene. As the other officer started to walk toward the house, he heard what he believed was a fence or a door swing open near the front of the residence and observed a person, later determined to be Bailey, standing in front of the residence.
Both Sgt. Pagan and the other officer observed a black handgun, later determined to be a CO2 pellet-style gun, in Bailey’s right hand. Both Sgt. Pagan and the other officer gave loud and clear commands to Bailey to put the gun down. Despite their commands, Bailey did not drop the gun.
At one point, Sgt. Pagan attempted to de-escalate the situation by saying to Bailey, “What’s your name, Bud, what’s going on with you?”
Sgt. Pagan then said, “Come over here.” As Bailey approached Sgt. Pagan with the gun in his hand, Sgt. Pagan again yelled, “Drop the gun, drop the gun, drop the gun.” Bailey chose to ignore those lawful commands and instead began to raise his arm with the gun in hand and point it at Sgt. Pagan. At this point, Sgt. Pagan fired his gun four times at Bailey.
Paramedics from the Villa Park Fire Department responded to the scene and transported Haven Bailey to Good Samaritan Hospital where, despite the efforts of emergency room personnel, Haven Bailey was pronounced dead at 4:29 a.m.
At the scene, authorities recovered a black CO2 pellet-style gun with “SigSauer 1911” written upon it. Additionally, a DNA sample taken from the CO2 pellet-style gun matched the DNA profile of Bailey.
The investigation
In an investigation conducted by the DuPage Metropolitan Emergency Response and Investigation Team (MERIT), Sgt. Pagan stated that he thought Bailey was going to shoot him.
“The man was coming straight for me,” he said. “I thought he was going to kill me. … If I had not fired my weapon at that point, I thought I was going to get shot.”
The investigation also found that as Sgt. Pagan attended to Bailey, he asked Bailey why he did not drop the gun to which Bailey responded, “I wanna die.” The shooting and Bailey’s statement were captured on squad car video.
The investigation also uncovered text messages sent by Bailey three minutes before the 911 call … the message read in part, “I’m sorry in advance…” The investigation also revealed that approximately one month prior, Bailey had conversations with a trusted family member in which Bailey talked about “suicide by cop.”
The conclusion
“In determining whether the shooting … was justified, the fundamental question is whether Sgt. Pagan reasonably believed Bailey posed an imminent threat of death or great bodily harm to the officer or others. … The ‘reasonableness’ of a particular use of force must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than with the 20/20 vision of hindsight.
“Given the actions of Haven Bailey …, it was reasonable for Sgt. Pagan to believe Haven Bailey was trying to shoot him and/or other officers at the scene, and that deadly force was necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or others,” Berlin said. “Additionally, with Bailey’s conversations about ‘suicide by cop,’ the evidence is clear that Bailey called 911 … with the intent of committing suicide by provoking the police into using deadly force against himself.
“Therefore, it is the conclusion of my office that Sgt. Pagan acted lawfully and was justified in using deadly force when he fired his service weapon and shot Haven Bailey.”
Berlin commended the actions of all officers involved.
