Officer was disciplined before for shooting gun
Updated: December 19, 2012
CHAMPAIGN -- A police officer is under investigation after shooting a dog last month. Police aren't yet saying he did anything wrong in this most recent incident. He's been disciplined once before for firing a weapon.
In 2009, Officer Andre Davis was disciplined for accidentally shooting his gun. It was just before 11 PM when officers came to Henry Drive for a report of a man who may be suicidal. Information obtained in the WCIA 3 Investigation revealed Officer Davis was the primary officer for the call.
Officers were on guard. People who knew the suicidal man said he had multiple guns in the car and that he always had drugs on him. The man was inside a car when many of the officers got there. Reports say the man got out of the car and opened the trunk. That's when Officer Davis fired one round toward the car.
The reports don't say where the bullet hit. But in one officers report, she said the empty casing struck the carport wall and ricocheted past. After everything, the man was arrested and taken to the police station. He had not been hit by the bullet.
A letter to Officer Davis dated two months later said he violated the department's policy on using deadly force. That policy said officers can use lethal force to arrest someone if they believe it's necessary to prevent death or harm to another person. He had to do remedial training with a firearms instructor. The letter also said a repeat violation could lead to more serious disciplinary action.
We looked at reports from ten different officers from that night. Officer Davis's report wasn't one of them. A city attorney told us Davis likely filed a report. But due to the investigation into this most recent incident, they wouldn't release it.
Champaign police investigate every time an officer uses a weapon so that doesn't necessarily mean he did anything wrong when he shot the dog last month. The Champaign Police Department declined comment on this case because of the ongoing investigation.
In 2009, Officer Andre Davis was disciplined for accidentally shooting his gun. It was just before 11 PM when officers came to Henry Drive for a report of a man who may be suicidal. Information obtained in the WCIA 3 Investigation revealed Officer Davis was the primary officer for the call.
Officers were on guard. People who knew the suicidal man said he had multiple guns in the car and that he always had drugs on him. The man was inside a car when many of the officers got there. Reports say the man got out of the car and opened the trunk. That's when Officer Davis fired one round toward the car.
The reports don't say where the bullet hit. But in one officers report, she said the empty casing struck the carport wall and ricocheted past. After everything, the man was arrested and taken to the police station. He had not been hit by the bullet.
A letter to Officer Davis dated two months later said he violated the department's policy on using deadly force. That policy said officers can use lethal force to arrest someone if they believe it's necessary to prevent death or harm to another person. He had to do remedial training with a firearms instructor. The letter also said a repeat violation could lead to more serious disciplinary action.
We looked at reports from ten different officers from that night. Officer Davis's report wasn't one of them. A city attorney told us Davis likely filed a report. But due to the investigation into this most recent incident, they wouldn't release it.
Champaign police investigate every time an officer uses a weapon so that doesn't necessarily mean he did anything wrong when he shot the dog last month. The Champaign Police Department declined comment on this case because of the ongoing investigation.
