A Carol Stream police officer will not be charged in connection with the February shooting death of a man during a domestic disturbance call.

DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said no charges will be forthcoming against the officer who fatally shot Isaac Goodlow of Carol Stream, or any other officers involved in the case.

“After a thorough and extensive investigation surrounding the shooting death of Isaac Goodlow by Carol Stream police officer Daniel Pfingston, it is my decision that no criminal charges will be filed against Officer Pfingston or any of the Carol Stream officers involved in the shooting,” Berlin said in a statement.

Goodlow was shot in the incident which began after Carol Stream police arrived shortly before 4:15 a.m. Feb. 3 at a unit in the Villagebrook Apartments, 260 E. St. Charles Road, for a report of a domestic battery. Police said Goodlow and his girlfriend, the victim of the domestic violence, shared an apartment at the complex.

Berlin stopped short of saying Pfingston’s actions were justified.

“To be clear, based on the results of an incredibly thorough investigation, I am not concluding that Officer Pfingston was justified in his use of deadly force,” Berlin said. “My conclusion, rather, is that the state cannot meet its burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that Officer Pfingston was not legally justified in using deadly force.

“Additionally, Officer (Nick) Janetis’ discharge of his taser and Officer (Molly) McGovern’s accidental discharge of her firearm did not impact Isaac Goodlow or contribute to his death. As a result, my office will not be taking any action against any of the Carol Stream officers involved in this incident.”

Berlin said he and his staff reviewed the applicable law and examined all of the evidence, including witness interviews, body-worn camera and squad videos, crime scene photos and videos, physical evidence, Crime Lab reports, MERIT Public Integrity Team reports and investigative file, Carol Stream police reports, Carol Stream fire reports, body-worn camera hash code summary, LEADS and police reports from related incidents, autopsy report, Axon Investigate metadata reports, criminal history records, and conversations with forensic pathologist James Filkins and forensic scientist Scott Rochowicz.

Berlin said contrary to claims of Goodlow’s family, the victim was not in bed when he was shot.  The state’s attorney said videos from body-worn cameras show otherwise and that there was no blood on the bed or bedding in the apartment. He said all the blood was by the bedroom door where Goodlow fell after being shot.

He added that attorneys for Goodlow’s family have stated that they discovered at least one of the officers involved had a “checkered past, including a prior officer-involved shooting while employed by a different police department” for which the officer was fired.

“This statement is patently untrue,” Berlin said. “None of the officers involved have a record of discipline relating to use of force.”

Police said the sister of the domestic violence victim was the one who called police about the incident.

The victim of the domestic violence told police that Goodlow was not fazed when she ran out of the apartment in her underwear, saying she was going to call the police.

“‘Call whoever the f— you want. They’re gonna have to kill me or I’ll kill myself,’ Goodlow said, according to his girlfriend.

The woman ran to her mother’s apartment in the same complex.

Police said when they ran Goodlow’s name through LEADS, officers learned that the Carol Stream man was on probation for robbery and his name was associated with an officer safety alert for a criminal gang member, with a mention of unlawful possession of a firearm/explosive bullets.

Police said they tried for more than 30 minutes to get Goodlow to open the apartment door.

At 5:10 a.m., 52 minutes after first knocking on Goodlow’s door, officers entered the apartment single file, using a key provided by a Villagebrook maintenance employee.

Goodlow was hiding behind the bedroom door and moved in an aggressive manner toward Pfingston when the Carol Stream officer pushed open the door, according to police.

“Believing Goodlow was either pointing something at him, throwing something at him or reaching for his firearm, Officer Pfingston fired a single gunshot at Goodlow, striking him in the chest,” Berlin said.

An investigation showed that Goodlow was not armed when Pfingston shot him.

“I believed that Goodlow was ambushing me with an intent to immediately cause me death or great bodily harm,” Pfingston said in his statement regarding the incident. “Goodlow’s sudden and aggressive actions toward me compelled me to flinch backward and discharge my weapon to stop the perceived threat.”

Berlin said Pfingston’s statement asserts the use of self-defense, which once raised, places the burden on the state to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was not justified in using the force which he used.

According to Berlin, Pfingston’s body-worn camera video shows that he had to react in a fraction of a second when the bedroom door opened and Goodlow without any warning took ‘a sudden and quick lateral step from behind the door, and immediately stepped toward’ Officer Pfingston with his ‘right arm bent and his right hand about shoulder height’ moving toward Officer Pfingston in an ‘aggressive manner.’”

Berlin said while Goodlow was not armed with a weapon is an important fact to consider, under the law, that fact by itself is not determinative.

The state’s attorney said the Carol Stream man’s homicidal and suicidal statements “certainly suggest Goodlow was planning on committing ‘suicide by cop’ by provoking the police into using deadly force.”

“The fact that for 52 minutes Isaac Goodlow intentionally ignored multiple police commands to open the door and instead, waited behind the bedroom door with the lights off until the police made entry, the state cannot meet its burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that Officer Pfingston was not justified in using deadly force,” Berlin said.

“It is indeed a tragedy any time a human life is lost. Criminal charges can only be filed, however, if the evidence is sufficient to support a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt,” Berlin concluded. “I offer my sincere condolences to Isaac Goodlow’s family and friends as they attempt to come to terms with what happened that morning.”