Jermel Roberson was working as a security guard at Manny’s Blue Room in the Chicago suburb of Robbins, Ill. when he apprehended a patron in the wee hours of Sunday morning. According to a witness, Roberson was complying with officers to release the suspect but an officer burst into the scene and fired a shot, killing the 26-year-old man.

NPR reports:

Jemel Roberson, 26, was armed and working security at Manny’s Blue Room in the village of Robbins around 4 a.m. Sunday when a shooting occurred, according to the Cook County Sheriff’s office. Witnesses said Roberson subdued one of the people involved.

In a statement released late Tuesday night, the Illinois State Police said that according to witness statements, an officer from the nearby village of Midlothian gave Roberson “multiple verbal commands to drop the gun and get on the ground before ultimately discharging his weapon and striking the subject.”

The agency said Roberson was in “plain black clothing with no markings readily identifying him as a Security Guard.”

That contradicts what people who said they witnessed the shooting told the media.

The outlet adds that Jakia Woods, who lives next to the venue where the killing took place, said she heard officers screaming at their fellow officer that Roberson was working with them to bring in the suspect.

This supports other witness accounts that the officer was hellbent on taking on the threat with force despite officers already on the scene.

A civil rights lawsuit has been filed in the amount of $1 million on behalf of Roberson’s mother by attorney Gregory Kulis.

The Midlothian Police Department has placed the officer on leave as it investigates the case.

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Photo: Getty

Source: HipHopWired.com