Fulton Co. incident investigated

The Illinois State Police (ISP) Division of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Zone 4 was requested by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department to investigate an officer-involved shooting involving the Lewistown Police Department and the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department.

On Nov. 4, 2020, the ISP DCI Zone 4 was requested to investigate the incident which occurred at approximately 9:32 p.m. in the 1200 block of Broadway in Lewistown on November 4, 2020. Initial information indicates a Fulton County Deputy and a Lewistown Police Officer were searching for a 26-year-old male, later identified by the Fulton County Coroner as Justin L. Hammack of Lewistown, who was wanted on a warrant for Resisting A Peace Officer. When officers located Hammack, he pulled a weapon, pointed it at his head, and then pointed the weapon at officers. Both officers fired their duty weapons at the subject, who was struck. The officers rendered medical attention while emergency medical personnel responded. The subject later succumbed to his injuries at a local area hospital.

Neither officer was injured during the incident. It was later determined the subject's weapon was a black BB gun, modeled to look like a black semi-automatic handgun. The weapon was recovered from the scene. Witness' accounts supported the initial summary of the incident. There is no body camera or in-car camera footage of the incident. DCI Agents are in the process of obtaining cell phone video from additional witnesses. This is an active and ongoing investigation, and no additional information will be released at this time.