In what they called a joint effort, the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office and Plano Police Department released audio and video footage Friday from the incident last month where police shot and killed a man in Aurora, officials said.
The video of the incident, which can be found on the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office’s YouTube channel, includes 911 call recordings, and dash camera and officer body-worn camera footage, with on-screen text giving additional details and explaining the sequence of events.
The audio and video release show events of the Sept. 27 incident and is part of a law enforcement effort at “open and transparent inspection of actions,” Kendall County Undersheriff Bobby Richardson says in an introductory statement in the video, as he stands with Plano police Chief Norm Allison.
While portions of the recordings on the YouTube page were edited for time, according to text with the video. However, the part in the video where officers apparently shoot the man are not edited and are shown in real time.
The man who was shot by police was identified by the coroner’s office as Nicholas Novak, 36, of Aurora, according to a news release. Officials said in that release, issued last Thursday, that the preliminary cause of death was a single gunshot wound.
According to news releases from authorities immediately after the Sept. 27 incident, and further mentioned in text on the video released Friday, the ordeal started in Plano following reports of shots fired during a possible home invasion there. Then, it ended in Aurora with the fatal shooting after a vehicle chase that included police from multiple agencies.
The video shows that Russell Novak, 70, of Pratt Court in Plano, made a 911 call at 6:39 p.m. on Sept. 27. During that call, Russell Novak said he was robbed, and that some of his guns were missing, specifically a shogun.
As the dispatcher talked with Russell Novak, he began yelling, apparently at someone other than the dispatcher. Then, a loud bang can be heard, and Russell Novak became unresponsive to the dispatcher, according to the 911 audio in the video.
He was later found at the address with at least one gunshot wound and was declared dead at the scene, according to the video.
The first Plano police officer arrived on the scene at around 6:42 p.m., according to the video. As the officer approached the house with his weapon drawn, a Chevy Bronco SUV pulled out of the garage.
The officer can be heard ordering the driver to stop the vehicle, but that didn’t happen. The driver fled.
A second responding Plano officer spotted the vehicle leaving the area and attempted to pull its driver over, but he did not stop and the chase began, according to the video. Nicholas Novak was identified as the driver.
The pursuit went eastbound on Route 34 into Yorkville, then Oswego and ultimately into Aurora, text from the video indicates.
The driver turned south on Eola Road in Aurora before making a U-turn and heading back toward Route 34, according to text in the video, and encountered a red light at the intersection of Eola Road and Route 34.
In Aurora, the driver reportedly got out of his SUV with a shotgun — while several other motorists were nearby, according to the video.
The released footage appears to show that the man pointed and fired the shotgun in the direction of police after stepping out of his vehicle. Then sounds like multiple gunshots can be heard on the video. Images show Nicholas Novak fell to the ground while clutching his stomach after apparently being shot.
“After observing [Nicholas Novak] wielding the shotgun, one Plano officer and one Kendall County deputy discharged their firearms striking” him, reads a statement included on the video.
Text on the video goes on to explain that officers on the scene attempted to render medical aid Nicholas Novak. He was transported to Rush Copley Medical Center in Aurora where he was pronounced dead.
In a Sept. 28 joint news release from the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office, the Plano Police Department and the Kendall County Coroner’s Office, officials said law enforcement officers who fired at the man did so to protect themselves and others in the area.
The Kendall County Sheriff’s Office has requested that the Illinois State Police investigate the officer-involved shooting, while the alleged home invasion and fatal shooting in Plano is being investigated by the Plano Police Department, according to the video.
The Kane County Coroner’s Office will be working with ISP to further investigate Novak’s death, the release stated.
According to text included with the video, Russell Novak and Nicholas Novak were “known to one another” and the incident was not a random act. However, law enforcement officials have not said publicly what Nicholas Novak’s motive could have been.
No law enforcement officers were injured during the incident, according to text on the video.
Because the shootout with police took place in the DuPage County area of Aurora, the Illinois State Police’s findings will be independently reviewed by the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office, text near the end of the video states.
The Kane County Coroner’s Office stated in its release that toxicology reports for Nicholas Novak are pending.
rsmith@chicagotribune.com
