Ill. Police Officer Struggled with Driver while Being Dragged over 100 Feet

By Thomas Geyer

Source Moline Dispatch and Rock Island Argus, Ill.

A Rock Island Police officer was dragged more than 100 feet by a vehicle while attempting to arrest Jakarta A. Jackson, 21, of East Moline, before he shot and killed Jackson.

The new information came from a news release issued Wednesday by Moline Police Chief Darren Gault, public information officer of the Rock Island County Integrity Task Force.

The shooting occurred about 3:20 p.m. Sunday in the area of 12th Street and 24th Avenue in Rock Island.

According to Gault's release, at 3 p.m. Sunday, a Rock Island police officer was on assigned patrol in the area of 12th Street and 34th Avenue.

The officer noticed a 2013 Ford Fusion with dark tinted windows that appeared to be attempting to evade the officer. The driver of the vehicle, later identified as Jackson, violated several vehicle codes.

The officer ran the vehicle's registration and noted the owner, Jackson, had a valid warrant in Rock Island County.

In an email to the Dispatch-Argus/Quad-City Times, Gault said the warrant was a failure to appear warrant in a misdemeanor case.

Separately, according to Rock Island County Circuit Court records, Jackson was serving two years on supervised probation after pleading guilty to a charge of reckless discharge of a firearm in Circuit Court on Sept. 1, 2023.

The officer was able to relocate the vehicle near 12th Street and 21st Avenue. The vehicle was northbound and immediately turned eastbound on 24th Avenue.

At about 3:20 p.m., the officer initiated a traffic stop.

Jackson exited the vehicle and ran west behind a vacant residence in the 2400 block of 12th Street, according to Gault's release. The officer chased Jackson on foot around the house, west, then north and the driver headed back east toward the still running vehicle.

At the time of the traffic stop the Fusion was occupied by Jackson and five other people. Also in the vehicle were a 25-year-old man in the front passenger seat, a 22-year-old man in the right rear seat, a 23-year-old woman in the right rear middle seat, a 3-year-old girl in the left middle rear seat and 6-year-old boy in the left rear seat.

As the officer chased Jackson, the 25-year-old man in the front passenger seat let the 23-year-old woman and the 22-year-old man out of the back seat. The 25-year-old got back into the passenger seat of the vehicle.

Jackson ran back to the Fusion, got into the driver's seat and shut the door, according to Gault's release. The officer ran to the vehicle and used his baton to break the driver's window. The officer then was able to open the driver's door.

The officer attempted to pull Jackson out of the vehicle and a struggle ensued. The vehicle was in drive, but the man in the passenger seat put the center console gear shift in park.

Jackson put the vehicle back in drive and accelerated the vehicle with the driver's door still open, the release said.

The officer was still half inside and half outside the vehicle still struggling with Jackson, who was now driving west through the grass along the north side of the house.

The officer's legs were being dragged on the ground while his upper body was inside the vehicle fighting with Jackson.

The vehicle drove more than 100 feet through the grass, down an embankment, hit a street sign and continued driving west.

The officer fired several rounds at close range striking Jackson in the torso and the vehicle came to a stop on 12th Street facing south.

The officer removed Jackson from the vehicle as two other Rock Island police officers arrived on the scene.

An officer used his department-issued first aid kit and all three officers began to render aid and call for an ambulance.

Jackson was taken to UnityPoint Health-Trinity, Rock Island, where he was pronounced dead.

Rock Island Police Chief Tim McCloud immediately requested the Rock Island County Integrity Task Force to respond.

Illinois law requires an outside agency or task force to investigate an officer-involved shooting.

The Rock Island County Integrity Task Force is led by the Illinois State Police and is comprised of detectives from several law enforcement agencies.

The Rock Island Police Department uses both in-car and body camera video. The video from the incident is being reviewed by the task force and Rock Island County State's Attorney Dora Villarreal along with additional investigative material.

Once all the facts are gathered, the State's Attorney's Office will make any decisions regarding the actions of the police department personnel.

Gault said it is important that Integrity Task Force investigators speak to anyone with information about the incident. Anyone with information is asked to call the Rock Island County Integrity Task Force at 309-752-4915 ext. 4935.

The Dispatch-Argus/Quad-City Times filed a Freedom of Information Act Request for car and body camera video footage associated with the incident, but it was denied. The denial cited the ongoing investigation.

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