ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Rock Island County State Attorney Dora Villarreal hosted a town hall to answer questions from community members about the state of her office Monday night.
Villarreal fielded a variety of questions related to the shooting of Deshawn Tatum. Tatum was shot by police during an incident on April first where police say he ran from officers. Tatum had a warrant out for his arrest and was considered armed and dangerous.
Investigators say during a foot chase Tatum attempted to flee in a stolen car, dragging officers as they tried to stop him in a gas station parking lot.
Villarreal says she has not received the full case, but has reviewed parts of the case saying, "We live in a world now where the public does demand to see everything immediately but on the other hand I also have a duty to ensure that we have an investigation that has been done as thoroughly and reliably as possible so that I am able to review everything in the most independent manner possible."
Right now the case is in the hands of the Rock Island Officer Integrity Task Force. It's a group of members from surrounding police agencies, not including anyone from the Rock Island Police Department per protocol to make the investigation as independent as possible.
The States Attorney says she hopes to have the full case reviewed in the next week or two. She says the number one goal is to make sure the investigation proceeds as transparently as possible.