Daycare worker, Marissa Jones, says she'll never forget what she saw.

ROCKFORD ILLINOIS: DEATH IN A BLACK CHURCH

Mark A. Barmore

"The boy finally came out from hiding with his hands up.  His hands were up and his head was down, and they just shot him. When he fell over onto the sink, they shot him again.", said daycare worker Sheila Brown describing how two white Rockford, Illinois police officers murdered Mark A. Barmore in the presence of children.

It started around noon when someone reported a domestic dispute.

The suspect was 23-year-old Mark Barmore, also known as Mark Stevens. His biological father's last name is Stevens. But his foster parents changed Mark's last name to Barmore when he was a child.

Barmore was wanted on a warrant, and was involved in another domestic dispute the night before.

Two Rockford police officers spotted him near the intersection of Palm and Church. When they stopped to talk with him, he ran into the Kingdom Authority Church. They were told he could be armed with a knife. The church is connected to the House of Grace Daycare and Preschool.

"My concern was for the children," says daycare worker, Sheila Brown. "I wanted to make sure they were okay. I tried to push them as far back into the corner so they wouldn't see anything."

There were ten kids in the room when the officers caught up with Barmore.

 

Although Sheila blocked the kids from seeing what happened, they heard the gunshots. Police Chief Chett Epperson says both officers fired, because Barmore put up a fight.   

"In the scuffle, the suspect had gotten a hold of the officer's gun," he says.

But witnesses say there was no fight, and they didn't see Barmore with a weapon at any point. That's why they think police used unnecessary force.

"When I looked behind me - as I was guarding the children - I saw the officer standing over the man, shooting him," Sheila said, "He was already shot, but they shot him again on the ground."

"He could've tased him, sprayed him with mace, hit him with a stick," Marissa adds. "Why did they have to take his life? That's something you can never give back to somebody."

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