Rockford Officer, Suspect Dead After Traffic Stop: Police

ROCKFORD, IL — A Rockford police officer was killed in the line of duty early Sunday, and a second person was found dead inside a crashed vehicle, Rockford Police Chief Dan O'Shea said during a Sunday morning press conference. Officer Jaimie Cox, 30, was pronounced dead at OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center.

O'Shea did not say how Cox died, stressing, "I don’t want to give information erroneously." Although Rockford police tweeted that officials were on the scene of a "shooting involving an officer," at 1:20 a.m., O'Shea said, “The coroner will give the official cause of death."

O'Shea said Cox conducted a traffic stop just after 1 a.m. in the area of State Street and Dawn Avenue. A short time later, he made a brief radio transmission asking for assistance. Officers who arrived on the scene found a single-vehicle crash involving a small pickup truck about two blocks north of the location where Cox had made the traffic stop, O'Shea said.

Officers located Cox, who was alive but critically injured, and he was transported to OSF St. Anthony, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

Another person was found dead inside the vehicle, according to O'Shea. During a press conference just after noon on Sunday, O'Shea said that person has been identified as 49-year-old Eddie Patterson.

O'Shea said a preliminary investigation indicates that Cox scuffled with the driver of the pickup during the traffic stop and "became entangled in the suspect's vehicle." O'Shea said police believe Cox may have fired his weapon during the scuffle.

The cause of death for both Cox and Patterson has not yet been determined, O'Shea said. Autopsies are pending.

Cox had been with the Rockford Police Department for a little under a year, joining the department in December 2016 from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division. O'Shea said Cox was a graduate of Hononegah High School in nearby Rockton and also served in the Army National Guard.

According to the Rockford Register-Star, Rockford University sent a text alert early Sunday stating an "armed and dangerous" suspect had taken a police officer's firearm near the university and remained at large. "Stay inside. Lock your doors and do not open the door for anyone," the alert said.

O'Shea called the investigation "very active," adding, "As far as suspects, we don’t feel the public is in jeopardy ... As soon as we can release details of what happened, I will."

O'Shea asked anyone with information on Cox's death or the crash to come forward. "If anybody has any information regarding this incident at all, we encourage them to come to the police department," he said. Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact the Rockford Police Department at 815-966-2900 or CrimeStoppers at 815-963-7867.

"We're all family, and it hurts," O'Shea said. He said police have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the community, from local officials and from across the nation.

"We know many are asking what you can do," O'Shea said. "Continue to support us. Pray for Jaimie. Pray for his wife, and pray for us as we continue this investigation."

Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara, who took office just six months ago, also spoke at the press conference.

"It's difficult to put into words what goes through your mind," McNamara said, describing the incident as the most difficult time in his short tenure as mayor. "We will be there to support Officer Cox and his entire family."

According to the Officer Down Memorial Page, Cox is the seventh Rockford police officer to die in the line of duty since 1917. The most recent death was that of Detective Kevin Darrell Rice Sr., 38, who was shot and killed on Aug. 3, 2001.

Early Sunday, Rockford police officers made a somber trip to escort Cox's body from the hospital to the Winnebago County Coroner's Office:

Image via Rockford Police Department