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Kyeiree V. Myers

Age : 28

Gender : Male

Race : Black

Date : 08/23/2023

Location : Illinois Route 162 at Mockingbird Lane

City : Granite City

County : Madison

State : Illinois

Agency : Washington Park Police Department; Pontoon Beach Police Department

Officer(s) :Unknown

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Killed by police vehicle after being shot by police during attempted detention

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/23/2023, at approximately 10:52 p.m., a Fairmont City Police Department officer initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle on Illinois Route 203 near Collinsville Road in Fairmont City. Shortly before the stop, 28-year-old Kyeiree V. Myers of St. Louis had exited the vehicle and was walking near the roadway. Illinois State Police did not identify Myers as the driver of the vehicle that was stopped.
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A Washington Park Police Department officer arrived to assist the Fairmont City officer and approached Myers. According to Illinois State Police, Myers ran and the Washington Park officer pursued him on foot. Police reported that Myers and the officer became involved in a physical struggle and that Myers broke away from the officer and gained access to the Washington Park police vehicle.
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Police alleged that Myers took the Washington Park squad car and drove it into a pillar near the Washington Park officer. The officer fired his gun at Myers and struck him while Myers was inside the police vehicle. Despite being wounded by the officer's gunfire, Myers drove away in the squad car.
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Illinois State Police issued an emergency radio broadcast concerning the stolen police vehicle, and officers from multiple agencies began searching for Myers.
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At approximately 11:00 p.m., about eight minutes after the initial traffic stop, Myers exited the Washington Park police vehicle on Illinois Route 162 at Mockingbird Lane in Granite City. According to Illinois State Police, Myers was lying in the roadway.
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A Pontoon Beach Police Department officer driving a police vehicle struck Myers while he was lying in the roadway. A passing civilian motorist also struck Myers. Myers was pronounced dead at the scene.
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The circumstances therefore involved two separate uses of force by police within minutes: a Washington Park officer shot Myers during the encounter in Fairmont City, and a Pontoon Beach officer subsequently struck Myers with a police vehicle in Granite City. Illinois State Police investigated the death.
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Myers' family subsequently disputed the police account and sought additional information about his death. A petition organized by his family described Myers as unarmed and stated that he was not a target of the investigation when the initial encounter began. The family said it had not received adequate answers about the circumstances surrounding his killing.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The Illinois Attorney General later addressed a public-records dispute involving the St. Clair County State's Attorney's Office concerning records of police-involved deaths. Kyeiree Myers' death was specifically cited as a case involving a man who had been shot by Washington Park police and subsequently struck by two vehicles. The Attorney General's December 2024 opinion discussed the statutory requirement for review of police-involved death investigations and public release of a report when prosecution is declined.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.kmov.com/2023/08/24/police-person-struck-killed-pontoon-beach-after-washington-park-squad-car-stolen/
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-courts/berkeley-man-who-stole-metro-east-police-car-was-shot-by-officers-then-hit-by/article_d6b191fe-4291-11ee-8cea-a74c019170cc.html
https://www.thetelegraph.com/news/article/man-dies-granite-city-shot-struck-vehicles-18330423.php