Officers Stan North and Oda Poole, of the Rockford Police Department, killed Mark Barmore on August 24, 2009. 24 year-old Barmore was involved in a struggle with the officers in Kingdom Authority Church in Rockford, before shots were fired.
News media and investigators have both reported conflicting testimony. The officers involved explained that it appeared as if Barmore was reaching for a gun, but others claim this is simply not true. Multiple witnesses explained that Barmore, who was unarmed, surrendered to police before he was shot in the day-care facility of the Rockford church.
On December 23, 2009, four months after the death of Mark Barmore, a Winnebago County grand jury cleared the two officers of the killing.
Rev. Jesse Jackson has made several trips to Rockford to show support and sympathy for the Barmore family. In his most recent visit, Rev. Jackson called the grand jury determination a “miscarriage of justice.”
Jackson and others are calling for a federal investigation by the Department of Justice, but the Department of Justice has only sent mediators to ease racial tension. No federal investigation has been launched.
Thousands of people have attended rallies to protest the killing, but the Winnebago County State’s Attorney considers the shooting justified.
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