Two officer involved shootings in the past two months by the Granite City Police Department were justified, the Madison County grand jury ruled on Aug. 28.

Light at a police station / Photo by Roger Starkey

The first incident occurred on July 9 at the Easy Stop service station on Edwardsville Road, Granite City. Officers Timothy Bedard and Ryan Jones responded to the station at 4:12 a.m. to find Stephen S. Minch, 45, of St. Charles, Mo., in his vehicle and pointing a firearm at the officers, a spokesperson for the Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office said.

Minch refused orders to put his weapon down, police said, and was shot several times. He died at the scene.

The second case involved Thomase E. Noser, 52, who is accused of using a baseball bat to beat his 76-year-old mother and a 38-year-old male family member. Officer Jason Schaefer, of the Granite City Police Department, responded to a home in the 2000 block of Delmar, Granite City on Aug. 2 and found Noser with a knife.

After refusing to drop his knife, police said, Noser charged at Schaefer, who shot Noser twice. Noser is currently held at the Madison County Jail on $500,000 bond. He faces two counts of attempted first degree murder, two counts of aggravated domestic battery and one count of aggravated assault.

The Illinois State Police, per protocol, investigated both incidents. The rules governing use of force by a peace officer in Illinois, the grand jury was told, state, in part, “however, he is justified in using force likely to cause death or great bodily harm only when he reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or such other person.”

Evidence presented in the Noser case included video and audio from Schaefer’s in-car camera. The grand jury heard recorded testimony from Minch’s former wife, viewed crime scene photographs and aerial photos. Illinois State Police special agents testified in both cases.