Cape Girardeau police officer cleared in Main Street Bar shooting

Officer Joseph "Joey" Hann will not face any criminal charges because of a Sept. 27 shooting, Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle said Thursday.

Swingle's decision not to file charges came after the Missouri State Highway Patrol completed an investigation of the incident in which Hann shot Jordan T. Modicue, 20, of Tamms, Ill., four times at Main Street Bar.

"His actions were reasonable and lawful," Swingle wrote in a letter to police chief Carl Kinnison.

Modicue, who was hospitalized with serious injuries but is expected to live, will not be charged for pulling what appeared to be a handgun but later proved to be an air-powered pistol that fires BBs or pellets, Swingle said.

Modicue was cooperative with the police investigation of the incident in a Sept. 29 interview with highway patrol investigators and admitted he had "messed up" by pulling the air pistol, Swingle said.

"He said he carried the gun to intimidate people, and had used it to scare the person he was arguing with that night, who wanted to fight him," Swingle wrote.

According to the letter, Modicue fully extended his arm and pointed the black gun at the head of another man. He held it sideways with the muzzle two feet from the other person's head.

Hann drew his weapon and ordered Modicue to drop his gun, and Modicue turned slightly "as if he were trying to blade himself to the officer to present a smaller target," Swingle wrote. When other officers chimed in with demands to drop the gun, it appeared to Hann that Modicue intended to fire, and he discharged his own weapon.

Modicue told investigators he heard the officers yell at him to freeze but not the orders to drop the gun, and that he realized why they felt he presented a danger to them.

"Frankly, it seems to me he has been punished enough by being shot four times," Swingle said, adding that Modicue did not need additional punishment by the court.

Because the gun turned out to an air pistol, the most Modicue could have been charged with was a misdemeanor for putting a person in apprehension of immediate physical injury, Swingle said. That charge carries a maximum punishment of up to 15 days in jail.

Another man present during the altercation, however, will face one count of assault against a law enforcement officer for pushing Hann, Swingle said. Once that man is identified from his photograph, formal charges will be filed.

Hann, 32, was placed on administrative leave with pay following the incident. He was placed back on duty Oct. 1, according to the Cape Girardeau Police Department.

"A number of people were assigned to this investigation, both internally and the highway patrol, and were able to determine pretty quickly that it was a justified shooting incident," Kinnison said Thursday.

Kinnison said he extended an offer for Modicue's family to come to the department and discuss the incident if they'd like.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

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