No charges filed against Westmont cop who shot teen during auto dealership burglary

No criminal charges will be filed against a Westmont police officer who shot a juvenile and another suspect during an attempted burglary at a luxury auto dealership, DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin announced.

“After a thorough and extensive investigation surrounding the shooting of a 17-year-old juvenile and 23-year-old Angel Martin, which occurred on Dec. 31, 2021, on the property of Laurel BMW of Westmont by an on-duty Westmont police officer, it is my determination that the officer’s actions were justified and no criminal charges will be filed against the officer,” Berlin said in an April 5 statement.

Berlin said he reached the decision after reviewing the applicable law and thoroughly examining all of the evidence including police reports, statements from those involved, surveillance video, in-car squad videos, witness accounts, site visits, physical evidence and analysis of physical evidence.

The incident took place about 4:27 a.m. Dec. 31 when Westmont Police Officer Robert Arndt and another officer responded to a burglary in progress at Laurel BMW, 430 E. Ogden Ave. The officers were informed of “two subjects, both with crowbars, trying to break in,” according to the statement.

Police saw a white Acura near the service bay doors on the west side of the dealership. They pulled in front of the Acura and exited their patrol car with their service weapons drawn, the statement said.

The two suspects, later determined to be the 17-year-old juvenile and Martin, who were inside the dealership, ran to the Acura and jumped inside. Arndt and his partner repeatedly yelled at the suspects to stop and exit the car. The driver of the Acura, later determined to be the juvenile, lurched the car forward and then accelerated directly at Arndt, who was standing on the driver’s side and in front of the Acura, according to the statement.

The juvenile then drove onto the sidewalk where Arndt was located forcing Arndt to move out of the way to avoid being struck. As Arndt was moving, he fired his weapon 10 times at the Acura. The juvenile did not stop, however, and drove through the parking lot of the dealership at a high rate of speed, over a concrete parking barrier, turned east onto Ogden Avenue and then turned left to head north on Route 83, according to the statement.

Oak Brook police took over pursuit of the Acura, which eventually crashed on the west side of Route 83 near 22nd Street in Oakbrook Terrace. All four suspects in the vehicle fled on foot. The juvenile was taken into custody after jumping from the second floor of a parking garage in the Oak Brook Center mall. He was transported to Good Samaritan Hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound to his chest. Martin, who had been shot twice in his left arm and grazed by a gunshot to his left leg, also was taken into custody. He was transported to Good Samaritan Hospital for treatment, according to the statement.

Investigators processed the scene at Laurel BMW and recovered 10 spent shell casings. They processed the vehicle allegedly driven by the juvenile and found evidence of eight gunshots that impacted the vehicle. Investigators recovered four firearms in or near the crashed Acura, according to the statement.

Through their investigation, authorities discovered the 2020 white Acura TLX sedan used by the offenders to burglarize Laurel BMW had been stolen from a Libertyville car dealership Dec. 21.

“In accordance with Illinois law, my staff and I have reviewed the facts and circumstances of the case with special consideration given to the perspective of the officer on the scene,” Berlin said in the statement. “It is important to remember that police officers are often forced to make split-second decisions about the appropriate amount of force necessary to bring a tense, uncertain and rapidly evolving situation under control.”

Berlin said “the juvenile clearly knew that Arndt and his partner were police officers. Both officers properly ordered the juvenile to stop and get out of the car. The juvenile chose to ignore those commands.”

Both officers had their weapons pointed at the juvenile when he refused to stop the vehicle and comply with their commands. The juvenile instead pulled his vehicle forward in a jerking manner directly at Arndt, who repeatedly ordered him to stop.

“Believing that the juvenile was trying to kill him with the advancing Acura, a forceable felony under Illinois law, Arndt discharged his weapon. Given the violent actions of the juvenile, his refusal to obey repeated police commands, his complete and utter disregard for the authority of the police and his intentional act of driving a 3,505-pound vehicle at Arndt, it was reasonable for Arndt to believe the juvenile was attempting to run him over and that deadly force was necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself,” according to the statement.

“Arndt was not required to retreat or desist from efforts to make a lawful arrest because of the juvenile’s resistance to the arrest. Arndt was justified in using deadly force because he reasonably believed such force was necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself,” according to the statement.

Additionally, as the juvenile was fleeing two forcible felonies, burglary as well as an aggravated assault, both of which involved the infliction or threatened infliction of great bodily harm, Arndt reasonably believed that deadly force was necessary to prevent the arrest of the juvenile from being defeated. Moreover, by accelerating while driving the white Acura directly at Arndt, the juvenile clearly indicated that he would endanger human life or inflict great bodily harm unless arrested without delay, according to the statement.

The legal justification for Officer Arndt’s shooting of the 17-year-old juvenile also applies to Angel Martin, who was shot in the arm, Berlin said in the statement.

“Therefore, it is the conclusion of my office that Officer Arndt acted lawfully and was justified in using deadly force when he fired his gun at the white Acura being driven by the 17-year-old juvenile who ignored the officers’ commands to get out of the car and instead drove directly at Officer Arndt in a display of complete contempt for the law,” Berlin said in the statement.