On October 2, 2020, Tyris Jones, a 20 year old Black man, was driving on Rockford’s west side with a woman in the passenger seat when Rockford Police SCOPE officer Dominik McNiece allegedly recognized him and believed he had an outstanding domestic violence warrant. McNiece, driving an unmarked patrol vehicle, began aggressively following Tyris, initiating a high-speed pursuit that lasted more than 10 minutes.
The chase ended near the intersection of South Main and Harrison when Tyris crashed into another vehicle. Tyris exited the car and ran away holding only his phone. McNiece got out of his vehicle, pointed his gun at Tyris as he fled, and shot him three times in the back.
Dash camera and security camera footage reportedly captured the shooting, but the footage has not been publicly released.
This incident was the 22nd case investigated and deemed justified by the Winnebago Boone County Integrity Task Force. It was also the second deadly force incident of the 2020s and the 11th since Tom McNamara took office.