On January 24th, 2009, Suzette “Sue” Babler was a Loves Park resident living her husband Kirby.
Sue and Kirby had recently co-signed on a personal loan for a friend of theirs. Over the past few weeks, that friend had stopped making payments towards that loan forcing the Bablers to pay for it.
When Sue went to confront the friend where an alleged dispute led to the arrest of Sue by Loves Park Police officer Erik Meadors. This was the first time Sue had ever been in handcuffs, never receding a traffic ticket before.
A friend of the family went to bond Sue out and they returned to the Babler household. Once there, it is alleged that Sue grabbed a unloaded Smith & Wesson .357.
Kirby would later state to RRstar reporters that this was the first time he had seen Sue touch a gun. They had three guns in the house that were kept in a different location that the bullets in the house. Only Kirby knew where the bullets were.
Sue then began pacing around the house and backyard with the gun in hand. A neighbor called the police after they seen the gun in Sue’s hand.
Erik Meadors was one of the first cops to respond. While some officers went to the front Meadors went around the back of the house. Once Meadors was positioned in the back, Sue ran out the back door into the yard. Meadors was there waiting and ordered her to drop the gun. According to Meadors eyes only, Sue raised the unloaded gun causing Meadors to shoot and kill Sue.
Kirby and friends of Sue would later talk to reporters claiming Sue battled depression. Sue had previously organized her neighborhood watch group and coordinated with police to have more parks surveillance.
The case was investigated and ruled justified by the Winnebago County Sheriffs. Erik Meadors is a loves park
K-9 cop.
This was the first shooting by a police officer in Winnebago County in 2009 and the 19th deadly force incident in the 2000’s.