Carol Stream police officers will not be charged in Isaac Goodlow case – NBC Chicago

The DuPage County District Attorney will not file charges against Carol Stream police officers in connection with the shooting death of 30-year-old Isaac Goodlow earlier this year.

According to a press release from District Attorney Robert Berlin, prosecutors will not file charges against Officer Daniel Pfingston or two other officers who entered the home during the February shooting.

Pfingston was one of two officers placed on paid leave following the Feb. 3 shooting.

According to authorities, officers were called to a residence after a “domestic violence incident” was reported. A woman gave officers permission to enter the home. She claimed Goodlow assaulted her during the incident. During the ensuing altercation, a single shot was fired, striking Goodlow in the chest.

His death was later confirmed at a nearby hospital.

Footage of the incident was released in March, but Goodlow’s family claimed the video was “pixelated and edited” and called for the unedited footage to be released because they believe it is a “misrepresentation” of the shooting.

“It was disheartening and a breach of trust for the family to see the bodycam footage released,” said Avasia Pigram, a cousin of Goodlow. “It was untrue and spread the false narrative that Isaac Goodlow provoked the police officers into taking his life.”

Relatives also said police used a taser on Goodlow and shot him as he lay in bed.

(Warning: The following video may be disturbing to some viewers. Discretion is advised) Carol Stream police released bodycam footage Friday showing the fatal shooting of a 30-year-old man during a domestic violence call described as “tense and uncertain.” But family members said Isaac Goodlow III was ambushed in the moments before his death.

Berlin denied those allegations, saying the footage was turned over to Motorola Solutions at the family’s request. A review was conducted and the investigation found the video had “not been altered or modified,” according to Berlin’s office.

According to Berlin, the investigation also found that the crime scene photos did not show any blood on the bed and that the video showed that Goodlow was not in bed when he was shot.

An autopsy ultimately revealed that no taser had been used against Goodlow during the altercation.

According to the Berlin office’s account, an officer’s body camera apparently showed Goodlow’s leg sticking out of the bedroom door and showed his right arm “bent and his right hand at about shoulder height.”

Pfingston testified that he believed Goodlow was pointing something at him or reaching for his gun, so he fired a single shot that struck Goodlow in the chest.

Another officer deployed a Taser as Goodlow emerged from the bedroom, but it became lodged in a wall and another officer’s shoulder, Berlin’s report said. Eventually, a third officer was knocked over, which led to an accidental discharge of a shot, according to police.

Berlin described the investigation as “thorough and comprehensive” and said it had decided not to bring charges against any of the officers.

Berlin specifically stated that he did not believe Pfingston’s use of deadly force was justified, but that the state “could not meet its burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt” that Pfingston’s use of firearms was not legally justified.

“However, criminal charges can only be filed if the evidence is sufficient to justify a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt,” it said in a statement.

He also said no charges would be filed against the other officers because their actions did not contribute to Goodlow’s death.

The family filed a civil lawsuit in federal court against the Town of Carol Stream and the two police officers involved in the shooting, claiming the officers entered the home unlawfully and that the shooting was unjustified. The case is still pending.