Naperville officer 'justified' in fatal shooting of hatchet-wielding man

NAPERVILLE, Ill. - A Naperville police officer will not face criminal charges for using deadly force during a June traffic stop in the western suburb.

The DuPage County Metropolitan Emergency Response and Investigative Team and the DuPage County state's attorney's office conducted an independent investigation into the June 3 incident and found Officer Frank Tonkovich's actions were justified.

Tonkovich had pulled a vehicle over near the intersection of Bond Street and McDowell Road when another car pulled up alongside, Naperville police said.

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A man, identified as 28-year-old Edward Samaan, got out of that car and "charged" at Tonkovich with a hatchet in hand, police said.

Body-camera video showed Tonkovich standing by the car he pulled over for driving through a stop sign. He spoke to the driver for about 11 minutes when a silver-colored vehicle traveling in the opposite direction pulled up and stopped next to him.

Samaan then jumped out of the vehicle and rushed toward the officer, appearing to hold a hatchet in his right hand, according to the video. Tonkovich fired several shots and Samaan fell to the ground.

Samaan was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said Tonokovich's actions were "not only reasonable, but necessary in order to prevent great bodily harm or death to himself or the motorist he had stopped."

"After a thorough and extensive investigation surrounding the shooting of twenty-eight-year-old Edward Samaan, which occurred on June 3, 2022, in the late morning hours at the intersection of Bond and McDowell Street, Naperville, by an on-duty Naperville Police Officer, it is my determination that the officer’s actions were justified and no criminal charges will be filed against the Officer," Berlin said in a statement.

Tonkovich, a 22-year veteran of the department, was not injured in the incident.