Family of Flossmoor woman shot by police question officers’ training; chief defends actions

Family members of Madeline Miller, the 64-year-old shot and killed by Flossmoor police July 10, questioned at Monday’s Village Board meeting whether officers had received proper training while the village’s police chief defended the two officers’ actions as justified.

Miller was shot three times, once in the arm and twice in the torso, by police who had responded to a report of a domestic disturbance in the 1400 block of Joyce Drive.

Family members said her funeral was held this past Saturday.

“I don’t think they had any proper training,” said Lewis Spells, one of Miller’s three brothers. “These cops could have done anything to de-escalate the situation but they didn’t.”

“They murdered my sister, and we have to live with that,” he said.

Video from body-worn cameras the officers wore showed Miller holding what appeared to be a large kitchen knife, and the department said she ignored the officers’ demands to drop the knife and came at them.

On Monday, Flossmoor police submitted the department’s reports related to the shooting to the state police, who are conducting an independent investigation, Flossmoor police Chief Tod Kamleiter said.

“The officers responded in a manner they were trained to,” Kamleiter said, calling it a “difficult but necessary” decision to use force.

The department’s reports have also been posted to the village website, although some information is redacted, including the names of the officers, Kamleiter said. He said the reports were also provided to Miller’s family.

Protesters at the meeting demanded the names of the officers be made public.

“Name that cop, name that cop,” several people in the audience of about 60 chanted.

At points leading up to public comment following a brief board meeting, Mayor Michelle Nelson instructed uniformed police officers who were in the meeting room to escort out those she deemed were being overly disruptive.

Miller was Black, and Spells said that “the color of her skin” played a role in the outcome.

“They came in to kill and that’s what they did to my sister,” Spells said. “They are trying to paint a picture that they were the victims and they are not.”

Police responding July 10 heard “arguing and commotion” inside the residence and, after announcing their presence, a woman using a walker opened the door for officers, police said.

A female family member began yelling “she’s trying to kill me,” and she and the woman in the walker moved out of the way for officers, police said.

Miller emerged from around a corner, holding a large kitchen knife, and “quickly ran at the officers with the knife pointed in their direction,” police said.

Officers retreated back onto a driveway and ordered Miller to drop the knife, which she refused to do and continued “to advance toward the officers at a quick pace,” according to police.

One officer fired a single shot, hitting Miller in the arm, and when she continued to advance toward that officer, with the knife raised, the second officer fired two shots, hitting the woman in the torso, police said.

The officers rendered medical help and called for paramedics. Miller’s death was ruled a homicide by the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

In the report posted at the village’s website, a 911 dispatcher tells responding officers that Miller was attacking another woman inside the home with a knife.

The knife was described as a slicing/carving knife with an 8-inch blade, and that Miller was holding it “in an ice pick style grip,” in her right hand, with her arm bent at the elbow and the point of the blade aimed toward officers.

In a supplementary report, a Flossmoor police detective who responded said he was told by a family member that Miller had “psychological issues.”

Jacqueline Spells-Campbell, a sister of Miller, said at the meeting that family members were planning Miller’s funeral on what would have been her 65th birthday. She said that Miller is one of eight sisters.

“My sister did not deserve to die,” Spells-Campbell told the Village Board. “I am angry, I am very angry.”

Her husband, James Campbell, said he believed that additional training was needed for officers who might encounter similar situations.

“We have to figure out what’s wrong with the training,” he told the board.

Following the meeting, Spells, Miller’s brother, said the family is frustrated that Flossmoor police have not been more transparent about the officers involved in the shooting.

“They won’t give us their names, they won’t hold them accountable,” he said.

A Chicago pastor, the Rev. Eric Leake, urged the Village Board to not “brush over what these protesters are saying to you,” and encouraged village officials to appoint a citizen review board that would independently investigate any future use-of-force incidents.

“This will be a giant step toward resolution,” he said.

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In a statement read at the meeting and posted at the village’s website, the mayor said “what happened July 10 is a tragedy and our hearts are with the Miller family and all those involved.”

She said that she and other village officials are working with “professionals and community partners” to set up a community forum “in an attempt to navigate this national topic of discussion.”

Flossmoor canceled its Aug. 2 National Night Out event, although Nelson at the time said it was not related to Miller’s shooting death.

Residents were notified that day that “out of an abundance of caution for the safety and well-being of attendees, the village has made the difficult decision to cancel” events set to take place at Parker Junior High.

“Through various monitoring methods, we have been made aware of several conversations that have caused concern among law enforcement,” a message sent to residents stated.

The cancellation came after an Aug. 1 Village Board meeting which drew a large audience and questions and comments related to Miller’s death.

mnolan@tribpub.com