Rockford activist group demands video evidence from officer shooting of Tyris Jones

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — The Winnebago County State’s Attorney will not press charges against the Rockford officer who shot Tyris Jones after a high-speed chase last month.

Local demonstrators aren’t satisfied and are calling on the city to release police video of the incident.

“I have found that Office Dominik McNiece was legally justified in the use of deadly force,” said Winnebago County State’s Attorney Marilyn Hite Ross.

“Based upon Officer McNiece’s observation of the defendant at the time, he reasonably believed the defendant had a weapon, even though a weapon was not found,” she continued.

Last week, Jones was charged with murder in connection to a September 26th shooting. Hite Ross says officers were aware he was a suspect at the time of last month’s high-speed chase.

“At the time that Officer McNiece discharged his weapon in the direction of Tyris Jones, he had reason to believe that Tyris Jones posed a threat to the community,” Hite Ross said.

“We will never see change of any sort as long as each time these injustices happen, the officer and the department involved are absolved,” argued May 30th Alliance demonstrator Leslie Rolfe.

Shortly after the shooting of Jones back in October, a group of activists with the May 30th Alliance started a sit-in protest at Rockford City Hall.

Organizer Leslie Rolfe says they will continue the demonstration until investigators release video footage of the incident.

“Since the officer has been cleared of any wrongdoing on South Main and Harrison, we demand as a community that the dash cam footage that Mayor Tom McNamara has spent the last six months telling everybody that each car is equipped with be released to the public,” Rolfe said.

Jones is also charged with attempting to steal a car right before he was shot and Aggravated Eluding to Flee a Police Officer.

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