After an investigation, Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser found no wrongdoing by Aurora police officers during an officer-involved shooting in the city in February 2023, officials announced on Thursday.
A news release from the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office said that Mosser determined that the two officers who responded after a 911 call – Officers Timothy Young and David Sheldon – acted in a professional manner during the incident in which Kristopher Cross, 22, was shot outside his home on the 900 block of Colorado Avenue on Feb. 5, 2023.
Officials said that Cross appeared to be in the midst of a mental health crisis. He is accused of charging at police with knives, with an officer then shooting him.
Cross survived the shooting.
“The evidence shows that Officers Young and Sheldon were there to de-escalate the situation and prevent further violence from occurring,” according to the press release announcing Mosser’s decision. “None of the factors that caused the escalation of this incident were the fault of the Aurora Police Department.”
Cross has been charged with attempted murder, unlawful restraint, aggravated assault to a police officer and aggravated use of a deadly weapon in connection with the incident, according to the release.
Officials said his next court date is scheduled for July 11.
According to a statement released in February 2023 by the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office, two uniformed Aurora police officers responded to the home on the 900 block of Colorado Avenue at 10:30 a.m. Feb. 5 after a family member called 911 to report another family member was armed with multiple knives and threatening people inside the house.
The officers met Cross at the front door of the home, and body camera footage showed he was agitated and immediately confrontational with the officers, the statement said.
Cross was holding a large knife as he spoke with officers through a glass screen door, according to the statement. The officers repeatedly told him to drop the knife, the statement said.
Instead, Cross yelled at the officers that he was going to stab them and that they were going to “die today,” according to the statement.
Cross also grabbed a second large knife, the statement said.
After repeatedly yelling at the officers and ignoring their commands to drop the knives, Cross closed the door, the statement said.
The two officers who had been at the door walked to the driveway, where they met up with other officers who had arrived at the scene, according to the statement.
Cross then came out of the house into the garage, which was open, the statement said. Cross, still armed with two knives, continued to yell at officers while inside of the garage, according to officials.
While in the garage, officers repeatedly ordered Cross to drop the knives, but he instead yelled he was going to show the officers how fast he is, according to the statement.
Officers were approximately 20 to 25 feet away from Cross when one officer fired non-lethal pepper-ball rounds at him in an attempt to get him to drop the knives, officials said.
Cross is accused of then charging toward the officers with a large knife in each hand. An officer transitioned from the pepper-ball gun to his service weapon and shot the charging Cross when he was about five feet away, according to officials.
Officials said that Cross had a third knife hidden in his pant leg and shoe, according to the release.
Officers immediately started medical treatment on Cross until Aurora Fire Department paramedics arrived and took him to a local hospital, according to officials.
Kane County State’s Attorney’s officials in the statement released Thursday said that Aurora police handled the situation properly, with Young and Sheldon doing “everything by the book.”
Mosser said it was “very clear that they were attempting to de-escalate the situation.”
The statement said the officer “properly employed the use of the non-lethal pepper-ball gun in the driveway” before turning to his service weapon when Cross is accused of charging the officers armed with knives.
