The responsibilities that come with a law enforcement badge extend beyond the end of a shift. An officer from Urbana recalls a case from nearly six years ago that continues to linger in his thoughts. It’s an incident he can’t forget.
“It was a beautiful day, bright and sunny. I started my shift in the early afternoon with no clue about the event I was about to encounter,” shared Urbana Police Sergeant Matthew McKinney.
It was summertime in Urbana’s Crystal Lake Park.
“I got dispatched to a person that thought they saw another person near Crystal Lake Park with a gun,” McKinney said.
McKinney was the first one on the scene. He was by himself.
“During our patrol of the area, I was the first to spot a duo of males. When they noticed me, one with a backpack took off running instantly. I pursued him, initiating our chase near the Park Pavilion area,” McKinney explained.
Then, he ran into a situation that no officer ever wants to encounter.
“I took my time as I got to the corner of a building, and as I was turning that corner, I saw what wound up being a 14-year-old kid — which breaks my heart — with a gun in his hand … And so, I came out of my holster and pointed it (a gun) at him,” McKinney said.
The two were only a few yards away from each other. McKinney was hiding behind the corner of the building with his gun in his hand.
“The first moment when I turned the corner and saw him with a gun in his hand, I definitely had a moment of thinking like, ‘This is going to end bad. This is going to be a shooting,’” McKinney said.
He was hoping the teen would drop the gun.
“Luckily, I took an extra second to take a breath and yelled for him to put it down. He threw it in the bushes, and then I was able to catch up to him, and I put my weapon in my holster and caught up to him. I was able to get him on the ground and get him in the handcuffs,” McKinney said. “And I just remember like a sigh of relief coming over me, like, ‘Oh my gosh, I don’t have to shoot this kid.’”
It wasn’t until officers spoke with the teenager and got his information that McKinney realized quite how young he was.
“This young man looked like an adult,” McKinney added.
McKinney is not only a father of three but also spends his free time coaching youth sports.
“I love sports. I love coaching. And I always try and find a way to blend the two together. My love for sports really bleeds into how I navigate this job and profession,” McKinney said.
Even after coming close to a near-death situation, he took the opportunity to mentor the 14-year-old.
“I was able to talk to his mom and just really go over how dangerous that whole situation is and quite frankly, to explain to him the situation he put me in, the things that I have to deal with, or would have had to deal with if I would have shot him,” McKinney said.
In a moment that demanded swift action, McKinney narrowly avoided a potentially deadly outcome, marking one of the closest brushes with death he’s ever faced.
“Those are the kind of moments where I always kind of boil back down to police work is dangerous, but it’s also just very challenging because no situation is the same,” McKinney said.
McKinney continues to use his passion for mentoring young teens daily in his career and even on his own time.
As teen violence continues to be an issue in Central Illinois, law enforcement hopes a story like this makes the younger ones think twice.
