Peoria police chief blasts decision to release man who allegedly pointed gun at officer

Peoria Police Chief Eric Echavarria angrily criticized a decision by a Peoria County judge Tuesday to release a man accused of pointing a gun at an officer during a traffic stop Monday morning.

During a news conference Wednesday at Peoria Police Department headquarters, Echavarria said that he couldn't understand the decision by Circuit Judge Mark Gilles to release Brian R. Childers, 45, before a trial on aggravated assault, fleeing and eluding a police officer and several other traffic charges. Childers had been held in the Peoria County Jail prior to Tuesday's hearing on a petition filed by the Peoria County State's Attorney's Office to hold him pending trial.

Echavarria said that the decision sent a confusing message on public safety, as Childers allegedly pointed a gun at an officer tasked with keeping the community safe, not just a random member of the public.

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"What's the message we're sending to the community when someone can point a gun, not just at someone in the community, but (at) a police officer who is tasked with keeping this community safe?" Echavarria said. "The officers you see behind me come in here every day to work hard and to keep this community safe, and I am disappointed in the decision that was made to release Mr. Childers with a GPS ankle monitor."

PPD said that the incident involving Childers took place around 4:55 a.m., when they attempted to conduct a traffic stop on Childers' vehicle at the intersection of West Starr Street and South Western Avenue, but he drove off before officers could begin.

A few moments later, they found Childers parked in the 600 block of South Western, but he refused to exit the vehicle. When officers got close to him, he pointed a handgun at them before fleeing at a high rate of speed.

He was found in the parking lot of the Par-A-Dice Hotel Casino in East Peoria by members of the Special Investigations Division. Echavarria said that officers also found a small amount of methamphetamine and several thousand dollars of cash in the vehicle, along with additional amounts of meth found in his hotel room at Par-A-Dice.

He was arrested without incident before Tuesday's hearing in front of Judge Gilles. Gilles ruled that while the actions in question did qualify for pre-trial detention, his lack of a criminal record made him less of a risk to the community.

Gilles ordered that Childers not leave the state of Illinois without receiving permission of the court and to not have any firearms or other dangerous weapons with him. He is also subject to random drug testing and is ordered not to possess or consume any alcohol during the trial.

In response to Gilles' order, Echavarria said that he was tired of watching those accused of violent crimes be released before trial. He brought up the case of Taiwand Hughes, an 18-year-old who threatened Gilles over the phone in February after he had a hearing on a weapons charge. Hughes was not armed at the time of the threat and was being held in the Peoria County Jail at the time of the incident, and Echavarria called that out as an example of the differing standards for pre-trial release petitions.

"I have a person who points a gun in very close proximity to one of my officers and we release him on a GPS? What is the standard?" Echavarria said. "I'm upset. If I sound upset, it's because I am upset."

He also felt that there needed to be accountability for judges that may make decisions that could make the community at large less safe.

"This has to stop," Echavarria said. "We are no longer going to take the blame at the police department for people that are being released. We are not releasing them; this is inappropriate and it has to stop. We have an unaccountable party here – our judges."

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He felt that the community at large deserved better from their local judges and made sure to emphasize his pride in the efforts that his officers undertake in their role to try and keep the community safe before saying that despite their frustrations, they continued to do their jobs to the best of their abilities following the order.

"The community deserves better," Echavarria said. "Our police department deserves better. I'm very proud of the men and women in this police department. They could stop – they could say, 'I'm not stopping any more cars.' But I will tell you, I listened to the radio last night (and) today. Our officers have not stopped. They continue to do the job our citizens have requested of them to keep Peoria safe."

The State's Attorney's Office said it would appeal the decision, with Childers' next appearance in court scheduled for May 2 at 1:15 p.m.