Peoria Police Refuse to Release Evidence of Man Pointing Gun at Police

On March 18^th, 2024, at approximately 4:55 A.M. Peoria police attempted to conduct a traffic stop. The driver of the vehicle was 45-year-old Alabama resident Brian R. Childers. He allegedly ignored officer’ commands to pull over and drove away. Officers did not pursue it. Later they found the vehicle parked with Childers inside. The police claim Childers refused to exit the vehicle and allegedly displayed a hand and pointed it at an officer. Again, Childers fled in his vehicle. Later, Childers was located at the Par-A-Dice hotel in East Peoria. Officers took him into custody. Police claim they located a firearm and illegal drugs on Childers’ person. Childers was subsequently arrested for Aggravated Assault on Peace officer, Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Obstructing/Resisting police, Armed Violence, Possession of Meth, and multiple traffic violations. Childers was transported to the Peoria County jail.

Despite attempts by the Peoria State’s Attorney to have Childers remanded into custody pending trial, Judge Mark Gilles allowed Childers to be released pre-trial citing his lack of a criminal history. His pre-trial restrictions included: electronic monitoring, not leaving the state without court permission, refraining from possessing a firearm or other dangerous weapons, not to possess or consume alcohol or illegal substances and submit to a random drug testing.

WCBU’s Camryn Cutinello pointed out, “Judges have limited leeway for ordering pretrial detention in Illinois. Judges consider a series of factors, such as whether the person is dangerous, or if they might not appear for their court date, when making the decision.”

In response to Childer’s being released, Peoria Police Chief Eric Echevarria held a press conference on Wednesday the 20^th of March.¹ Standing at a podium with a blue line of PPD officers erected behind him, Echevarria blasted Judge Gilles for releasing Childers.

“It is beyond belief and beyond me how our judges can release somebody who has pointed a gun at one of my officers,” Echevarria said indignantly. “What is the message that we’re sending to our community when somebody can point a gun not just at somebody in the community but let alone a police officer in this community who is tasked with keeping this community safe…. I’m upset. If I sound upset, it’s because I am upset…. This has to stop! It has to stop!”

However, when Echevarria was asked the slightest of questions about Childers’ arrest, he refused to answer and swiftly ended the press conference.

One reporter asked why Childers was stopped? “At this point, I think it is irrelevant at the time where he points a gun…. The press conference is over. I won’t be taking anymore questions.” Does this mean the traffic stop was unlawful?

Echevarria asked a number of rhetorical questions including:

“I’m done just standing here and letting this continue to happen where people get arrested and they get released. What is the message being sent to our police officers?” That the police are not judge, jury, and executioner. That individuals are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, not simply because the police claim an individual is guilty.

“What are you telling our community members?” That there is this thing called the constitution which provides people with: due process of law (5^th amendment), protections against unreasonable bond (8^th Amendment), etc.

“I’m very proud of the men and women of this police department. They could stop. They could say ‘I’m not stopping anymore cars. I’m not doing that.’” The police are paid–by the tax payers–very well to do their jobs (some police make six figures when you include overtime pay). If they wish to stop doing their jobs, they are more than welcome to seek employment elsewhere.

“We are not going to take the blame for people being released. We are not releasing them.” Nobody wants you in charge of deciding who gets released pre-trial. It’s why we have this thing called separation of powers. It’s why we have an independent judiciary that can objectively look at the facts and make a dispassionate, rational decision; a decision not based on feelings.

Peoria County State’s attorney’s office had said it planned on appealing Judge Gilles ruling. However, before the Peoria State’s Attorney could appeal the ruling, Tazewell County State’s attorney issued their own arrest warrant for Childers for the crimes of armed Violence and possession of methamphetamine. Importantly, this is not a new offense, but stems from the original incident. This appears to be a legal run around the pre-trial fairness act. Childers was arrested at the Peoria County Courthouse on Friday, March 22^nd, by PPD.

Chief Echevarria released the following statement after Childers’ arrest Friday:

“I want to take this opportunity to thank Tazewell County for taking swift action in the issuance of this warrant, which allowed Peoria Police to take this dangerous individual off the streets.”

According to reporting by WCBU’s Camryn Cutinello:

Childers appeared in person Thursday afternoon. In a motion to dismiss, the defense argued the charges in Peoria and Tazewell counties stemmed from one long incident and the case would fall under collateral estoppel. That’s a doctrine that protects defendants from being tried on the same crime in different trials.

The prosecution argued the incidents were connected, but were separate crimes. Assistant State’s Attorney Cassie Mullikin said since the charges were not identical, the doctrine did not apply.

Judge Chris Doscotch denied the motion to dismiss.

The court heard testimony from the officer who originally attempted to pull Childers over and who engaged with him when Childers allegedly pointed a gun.

The officer testified he witnessed Childers fail to use a turn signal and fail to yield the right of way, which prompted him to attempt to pull Childers over. He said he used lights and sirens, but Childers did not stop.

He said in accordance with department policy, he did not pursue. He later saw Childers in a parking lot and pulled his squad car next to Childers.

Body camera footage was shown of the incident. The officer asked Childers to get out of his car. When Childers did not, the officer pulled his gun and asked again. It’s then that Childers allegedly pulled his gun. In the body camera footage, a man appears to say that he also has a gun.

The footage is shaky and hard to see as the officer moved to cover behind his squad car. Childers then fled the scene.

The affidavit of probable cause from Tazewell County states that during the investigation, officers had spoken with a friend of Childers, who said she asked him to drop her off because he was driving recklessly and appeared to be intoxicated. She said that he always carried the gun with him.

She then said he was staying at the Par-A-Dice Hotel in East Peoria. Around 10:05 a.m. police verified Childers was staying at the hotel and spotted him exiting the hotel. Officers drew their firearms and ordered Childers to the ground. The court documents said he stood in place for 2-3 minutes, but eventually complied.

Judge Doscotch said he considered the severity of the Tazewell County charges that include a Class X felony for armed violence, and Childers potential as a flight risk since he is not a resident of Illinois.

Childers can appeal the decision to detain. His arraignment in Tazewell County is scheduled for 2 p.m. April 11. His arraignment in Peoria County is scheduled for May 2.

Despite holding a press conference & grandstanding about how offended they are that Brian Childers was released pre-trial after allegedly pointing a gun at an officer, the Peoria Police Department refuses to release any information or video footage of the incident. They claim:

“Disclosure would interfere with pending law enforcement proceedings. The requested records contain serious criminal charges. This incident began on 3/18/24, with the most recent action on 3/21/24. The investigation is in the beginning stages and the release of the incident details could jeopardize the investigation.”

But, according to the WCBU reporting above, the footage has already been shown during a public court hearing. The idea that it would now jeopardize the investigation is absurd. Agitation Rising is appealing this refusal with the attorney general’s office.

Police departments routinely release information to the media whenever it suits their interests. One would think with PPD would want as much information released as possible to back up their claims, especially when they are attacking a sitting judge.

Curious. Why don’t they want us to see what actually happened?

1. You can view the full press conference here.