Naperville Cop 'Justified' In Shooting Hatchet-Wielding Driver: Berlin

NAPERVILLE, IL — A Naperville police officer who shot and killed a man who got out of his car with a hatchet and charged the officer during a traffic stop earlier this summer won’t face criminal charges and was justified in shooting the man, prosecutors have determined.

DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said Monday that Naperville Police officer Frank Tonkovich was within his rights as a police officer in shooting Naperville resident Edward Samaan, 28, on June 3. The incident took place in the late-morning hours after Tonkovich conducted a traffic stop at the intersection of Bond and McDowell streets.

Tonkovich was speaking with the driver of the vehicle he pulled over when a vehicle driven by Samaan stopped a few feet from the officer’s car, police said. Video shows Samaan stepping out of his car with a hatchet and making a move toward Tonkovich, who fired six shots at Samaan, striking him five times, investigators said.

Samaan died from his injuries. Berlin said Monday that in making his decision, he used evidence such as police reports, statements from those involved, body camera footage, video footage captured from the Naperville police car Tonkovich was driving, witness accounts and other information.

“Every case involving the use of deadly force by a police officer, whether on or off duty, must be carefully and thoroughly investigated,” Berlin said Monday in announcing his findings. “Such scrutiny is required to ensure the protection of the civil rights of those involved and to maintain the public’s confidence in law enforcement.”

Following the incident, Tonkovich wrote in his report that he feared for his life when Samaan charged toward him with the hatchet and that he also feared for the life of the driver of the car he had pulled over, Berlin’s office said in a news release.

“I was forced to draw my firearm and use deadly force to stop Samaan from killing me or (the driver of the Honda Civic),” Tonkovich’s report said.

Berlin determined that when Samaan charged at the officer with the hatchet, Tonkovich reasonably believed that Edward Samaan was trying to kill him or the subject of the traffic stop, and reasonably believed deadly force was necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or the driver of the vehicle he had stopped, Berlin concluded.

“Evaluating Officer Tonkovich’s actions from the perspective of a reasonable officer in the same situation, based on the totality of the circumstances known to or perceived by the officer at the time of the decision, rather than with the benefit of hindsight, Officer Tonkovich’s action of discharging his duty weapon at a man charging at him and the motorist he had lawfully stopped while armed with a hatchet, a deadly weapon, was not only reasonable but necessary in order to prevent great bodily harm or death to himself or the motorist he had stopped,” the release said.

Berlin’s statement also indicated that Tonkovich and the Naperville Police Department should be commended for their professionalism during the incident. He said that the concern for Samaan’s well-being and safety after he had been shot is “a testament” to the training he received, Berlin said.

"This incident illustrates that there is no such thing as a ‘routine traffic stop,’ and I'm both pleased and grateful that the investigation determined our officer's quick actions to save his own life and that of the young man he had pulled over were within the law," Naperville Police Chief Jason Arres said in a statement on Monday.

"I want to thank the DuPage County Metropolitan Emergency Response and Investigative Team (MERIT) and the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office for their thorough investigation as well as the Naperville community for their continued support of our department."