Suspect who escaped electronic monitoring killed in standoff with Chicago police, federal marshals and sheriff’s deputies

A wanted sexual-assault suspect who escaped electronic monitoring was shot and killed in a standoff with Chicago police, federal marshals and sheriff’s deputies Friday morning — an incident Police Supt. David Brown used to further his criticism of the courts.

Klevontaye White, 34, was facing more than a dozen counts of aggravated sexual assault. He was in a Jeep when he was confronted by federal marshals and Cook County sheriff’s deputies around 9:40 a.m. in the 100 block of South Kilpatrick Avenue, in West Garfield Park, Brown told reporters.

They approached the Jeep and ordered White out but he refused, Brown said. They then called for help from Chicago police.

Officers investigate at the scene where Klevontaye White was fatally shot during a standoff with police Friday morning in the 100 block of South Kilpatrick Avenue. | Anthony Vazquez / Sun-Times

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Officers investigate at the scene where a person was shot during a standoff with police Friday morning in the 100 block of South Kilpatrick Avenue. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

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Officers investigate at the scene where a person was shot during a standoff with police Friday morning in the 100 block of South Kilpatrick Avenue. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

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Officers investigate at the scene where a person was shot during a standoff with police Friday morning in the 100 block of South Kilpatrick Avenue. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

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Officers investigate at the scene where a person was shot during a standoff with police Friday morning in the 100 block of South Kilpatrick Avenue. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

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Chicago Police Supt. David Brown speaks to reporters after a person was shot by police during a standoff Friday morning in West Garfield Park. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

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Chicago Police Supt. David Brown speaks to reporters after a person was shot by police during a standoff Friday morning in West Garfield Park. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

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Chicago Police Supt. David Brown speaks to reporters after a person was shot by police during a standoff Friday morning in West Garfield Park. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

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White displayed a gun and three police officers and a marshal opened fire, Brown said. White was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

An autopsy released Saturday found he died of multiple gunshot wounds.

No police officers were shot, but five were taken to hospitals for evaluation, he said.

A handgun was recovered at the scene, police said. Brown said it was unclear if White had fired at the officers, though cops at the scene can be heard on the police radio saying shots were fired at them.

As the confrontation unfolded, a sheriff’s officer radioed there was a man with a gun inside a Jeep. A police dispatcher directed officers to the scene, warning them to “take cover.”

Someone radioed, “Shots fired at police” and minutes later, the dispatcher was told, “The offender is down.”

Chicago police arrest photo

White had violated his electronic home monitoring by cutting off the bracelet, Brown said.

According to the sheriff’s office, White was booked into the Cook County Jail on Jan. 8, 2020 after being ordered held without bail on charges of aggravated criminal sexual assault with a weapon, armed robbery and aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

On July 9, he had a bond reduction hearing and his bail was set at $100,000. He was released from jail and placed on electronic monitoring on Aug. 16, 2020 after posting 10% of his bail.

Law enforcement agencies including the sheriff’s office had searched for White since he went missing on Dec. 2, 2020.

A warrant for White’s arrest was filed Dec. 4, Brown said. He said he believed White lived on the block where the shooting occurred.

White had prior convictions for carjacking, aggravated battery with a firearm and other crimes, the sheriff’s office said.

Brown used Friday’s shooting to repeat once again his claim that the Cook County court system is fueling gun violence by releasing on electronic monitoring people charged with violent crimes.

“If this debate that we’re having saves one life, then all the criticism is worth it,” said Brown, who has been accused by the county’s chief judge and prosecutor of mischaracterizing the monitoring program and using isolated cases to blame it for rising violence.

“I’ve mentioned that 7-year-old Jaslyn Adams was killed by someone on electronic monitoring,” Brown said, referring to a shooting at a McDonald’s drive-thru earlier this year. “We are advocates for the victims.”

After a Fourth of July weekend that saw over 100 people shot in Chicago, the county’s top prosecutor and judge lambasted Brown for blaming the courts for rising gun violence.

Timothy Evans, chief judge of Cook County Circuit Court, dismissed Brown’s criticism as speculation based on isolated cases.

“Looking at individual tragic cases in isolation may contribute to the speculation that releasing individuals before trial rather than incarcerating them — whether by placing them on electronic monitoring or other forms of supervision — means an increase in crime,” Evans said earlier this week.

State’s Attorney Kim Foxx turned Brown’s criticism against him, saying police need to make more arrests for violent crimes.

“It starts with apprehending those who pull the trigger,” she said in a statement. “Police must make an arrest before a case reaches the courthouse door.”

The U.S. Marshals Service was leading the investigation into Friday morning’s shooting. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability was investigating the three Chicago officers’ use of force.

In a statement, COPA said there was police body camera video of the shooting, which would be released within 60 days, in accordance with city policy.

Anthony Vazquez / Sun-Times