The Murder of Logan Bell

On October 11, 2012, 18-year-old Logan Bell was experiencing a mental health crisis after reportedly stopping prescribed medication in the days leading up to the incident. A family member called 911 expressing concern that Logan might harm himself and informed dispatchers that he had a BB gun.

Rockford police officers Jeremiah Cizerle, Phillip Statler, and Andre Brass responded to the scene. The officers pursued Logan from the Bell family home into a nearby field. Police alleged that Logan pointed the BB gun and may have fired once, causing officer Andre Brass to trip and fall, though Brass was not injured and Logan did not strike any officers.

While Brass was on the ground, officers Phillip Statler and Jeremiah Cizerle fired a total of sixteen shots, killing Logan Bell.

The shooting was investigated and ruled justified by the Winnebago County Integrity Task Force. It was the fourth case investigated and justified by the task force, the fifth police deadly force incident in Winnebago County during the 2010s, the second Rockford police shooting of 2012, and the first case justified under a “suicide by cop” claim.