Mary Alice Love

Mary Alice Love was a 37 year old woman from Mundelein, Illinois who died on May 11, 2026, after she was shot by a Mundelein police sergeant who had responded to a mental health crisis at her family's home. Her death set off months of protests, a coroner's inquest, and a legal fight over police accountability that was still unfolding as of October 2026.

According to police records and a 911 call released publicly, Love's mother, Jeffry Love, called for help on the night of May 11 because her daughter, who she said was bipolar, had told her she no longer wanted to live. Officers who arrived at the family's home on Ashbrook Drive found Love on a rear patio holding two knives. Body worn camera video later released by the department showed Love being shot by Sergeant Christopher Brigano after she opened a sliding glass door leading to where her mother and officers had gathered.

Love's death quickly became a flashpoint in Mundelein and the wider Chicago area. Her parents, Jeffry and Johnny Love, and their attorney Kevin W. O'Connor led repeated demonstrations outside Mundelein's village hall, calling for the release of full bodycam footage, the firing of Sergeant Brigano, and criminal charges against him. Supporters framed her death as part of a broader pattern in which police responding to mental health emergencies end in the death of the person they were called to help rather than in the kind of crisis intervention her family had hoped for.

In July 2026, a Lake County coroner's jury ruled that Love's death was a homicide caused by multiple gunshot wounds, a finding her family and supporters described as an important, if incomplete, step toward accountability. The case then moved to the Lake County State's Attorney's Office, which reviewed an independent investigation into the shooting.

On October 22, 2026, State's Attorney Eric Rinehart announced that his office would not bring criminal charges against Sergeant Brigano, saying prosecutors could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime had occurred, even though he acknowledged the shooting may have been preventable and that things could have been done differently. On the same day, Love's father filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against the Village of Mundelein and Sergeant Brigano, who had remained on paid administrative leave since the shooting, alleging that he used excessive force against her.

Love was remembered by her family as a daughter in crisis who needed help, not force. No funeral or memorial details have been made public at this time, and this page will be updated as that information becomes available.