Cape police officer shoots Tamm, Ill., man after fight outside bar escalates

A Cape Girardeau police officer shot a 20-year-old man early Saturday morning after a fight escalated outside Main Street Bar at 701 N. Main St.

Jordan T. Modicue of Tamms, Ill., was shot twice in the lower abdomen, once in the groin and once in his leg near the knee. He was transported to Saint Francis Medical Center. The hospital did not release his condition Saturday.

According to police department spokesman Sgt. Barry Hovis, a fight broke out around the bar's closing time. Modicue reportedly pointed what officers thought was a handgun at the man with whom he was fighting. Police identified the weapon later Saturday as a Daisy air gun that shoots BBs or pellets.

AARON EISENHAUER ~ aeisenhauer@semissourian.com Witnesses and police shout at one another following a shooting outside the Copa on North Main Street early Saturday morning, September 27, 2008.

Hovis said the police officer started yelling "drop the gun."

"The subject didn't comply and actually turned toward the officer, who then discharged his weapon to defend himself," Hovis said.

Attempts to reach Modicue's family were unsuccessful Saturday afternoon.

Pictures taken at the scene immediately after the shooting, which occurred around 1 a.m., show a heated exchange between police and bystanders.

AARON EISENHAUER ~ aeisenhauer@semissourian.com Witnesses shout threats and accusations at police after a man was shot outside the Copa Bar on Main Street early Saturday morning, September 27, 2008.

The emergency room at Southeast Missouri Hospital was placed on lockdown "briefly" after about 20 angry people arrived, mistakenly thinking that was where Modicue was taken. "It was done as a security precaution with all those people coming and upset," said hospital spokesman Mark Bliss.

Saint Francis Medical Center was also placed on lockdown, and officers were dispatched to the scene. Emily Sikes, a hospital spokeswoman, said she did not have further details about the lockdown or the patient's condition.

Police are expected to release the name of the police officer involved Monday. The 32-year-old officer is a 10-year veteran who has been with the department for nearly two years, Hovis said. The officer has been placed on administrative leave while the department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol investigate the incident.

Hovis said the officer did not know at the time the weapon was a BB or pellet gun.

CHUCK WU ~ cwu@semissourian.com Police surround a suspect as he lies on the ground after being shot by police in an incident outside the Copa on North Main Street early Saturday Morning.

"If it looks real, we have to treat it like it is," he said, adding that police did not respond with a Taser because "it might not be effective enough to stop them from shooting you."

He said the officer's name is being withheld until Monday so he has time to "wind down" after the incident, which Hovis described as "traumatic," and contact his family.

Sgt. Phil Gregory of the Missouri State Highway Patrol said he expects a report to be released this week about whether there were any criminal violations.

lbavolek@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123

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