Rock Island officer who fatally shot Jakarta Jackson, cleared by state's attorney

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No charges will be filed in the death of 21-year-old Jakarta Jackson after he was shot and killed by a Rock Island police officer on Jan. 5.

Rock Island County State's Attorney Dora Villarreal said the officer's use of deadly force was reasonable "given the totality of the circumstances." RIPD previously identified the officer involved as Brett Taylor, who has been with the department since November 2021.

Jackson was killed when he tried to flee police during a traffic stop, dragging Taylor while he tried to pull Jackson out of the driver's seat. Villarreal said in her report there were six passengers in the car at the time of the incident, including a 3-year-old and a 6-year-old.

Villarreal wrote the following in her report, which can be found in its entirety towards the bottom of this article:

"Given the totality of the circumstances in this very quick and very volatile incident, it is reasonable to believe that Officer Taylor and the passengers in the vehicle, were in imminent danger of great bodily harm or death from Jackson's attempt escape arrest (sic) or apprehension. Whether Jackson intended to jeopardize the life of the officer and the passengers in the vehicle is not a factor in this legal analysis, but the bottom line is that he did — and they are lucky to be alive."

According to a statement, high-profile civil rights attorney Ben Crump is representing Jackson's family. Crump has represented the families of Sonya Massey, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. News 8 received the following statement from Crump, Antonio Romanucci and the legal team:

“The legal team representing loved ones of Jakarta Jackson is deeply troubled by the lack of full transparency given to the family today, as a carefully edited PowerPoint presentation shared only slivers of the deadly encounter with Rock Island Police. Importantly, what the family did not get to see were the critical seconds before the officer fired his weapon, killing Jakarta. Without the full picture of what happened, it is impossible to believe the law enforcement narrative that the shooting was justified. The community must ask the police: what are they hiding that they would not allow the family to witness the entire encounter? The entire story is still known to only one side-that of the Rock Island Police Department- and their idea of full transparency falls short of what the community demands and deserves. We will continue to insist on the full truth for those who loved Jakarta Jackson.”

Villarreal begins her 18-page report with background on the case, which was collected through interviews and by reviewing body and dash cam video.

One detail that has not been released until now is the number of times Taylor fired his weapon. According to the report, Taylor fired five times and hit Jackson in the glute and lower torso.

There were six people in the car at the time of the traffic stop, according to Villarreal and previous information from the Rock Island County Integrity Task Force. That includes a 25-year-old man in the passenger seat, a 23-year-old woman and a 22-year-old man in the backseat, along with a 3-year-old girl and a 6-year-old boy. Villarreal said the backseat did not have child safety restraints or seating. None of the passengers were injured during the incident.

The 3-year-old girl is Jackson's daughter.

All three adult passengers were interviewed, along with the 6-year-old who was interviewed at the Rock Island Children's Advocacy Center with his mother's consent. Their accounts are detailed in Villarreal's report.

According to the front passenger, everyone was "yelling and telling Jackson to stop the car." The passenger also said that Taylor was not hitting Jackson but was trying to get him out of the car.

The two adults in the backseat got out of the car before the shooting took place. According to Villarreal's report, the two tried to remove the children from the back but were not able to before Jackson started driving away.

No weapons were found inside the vehicle or in Jackson's possession.