Cook County Cop Shoots Man, Said He Was Pointing Gun At Officers

COOK COUNTY, IL -- A man was shot by a Cook County Sheriff Police officer Wednesday evening when he pulled a gun on officers fleeing a traffic stop, a sheriff’s news release said. The man, a convicted felon currently on parole, is recovering from his wounds at Mt. Sinai Hospital.

Around 7:20 p.m. Sept. 2, the Cook County police officer was patrolling unincorporated Stickney when he saw a vehicle traveling well above the speed limit. The vehicle had no front license plate and illegally tinted windows, according to a news release said.

When the officer tried to pull the vehicle over, the driver briefly stopped and opened his door. The officer said the man refused his request to get out of the vehicle and fled.

The driver turned into an alley and got out the vehicle with something in his hand. Sheriff’s police said the officer followed him in his car while continuing to order him to stop. The driver dropped a cellphone and continuing running away, ignoring orders to stop, according to a preliminary investigation.

The officer continued following the man in his police vehicle repeatedly ordering the driver to stop. Police said the driver did not stop and kept running. The officer got out of the car in the 4600 block of South Laramie Avenue, and chased the driver.

Sheriff’s police said the man ran to the front step of a residence. A second officer arrived and tried to help by approaching the man from the opposite direction. A video of the man, which sheriff's police said showed him pulling a handgun out of his bag and pointing it at the second officer coming within several feet of him.

The first officer fired multiple shots, hitting the man in the shoulder and buttock. Police immediately requested paramedics. The man continued to resist the officers, standing up and running to the front step of a nearby home.

As the first officer pointed a taser at the man ordering him to come down from the step, other sheriff’s and Chicago police officers arrived at the scene.

Sheriff’s police said the man walked off the front step and then tried to run past the officers, but they were able to subdue him. When the man continued to disobey orders to calm down, the sheriff’s police officer discharged his taser.

The man was restrained and handcuffed, police said. Officers said they found a black and silver handgun near the man, as well as suspected bags of crack cocaine. Paramedics arrived and the man was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital where he is listed in good condition.

The Cook County Sheriff’s office said the man has three prior felony convictions. In 2018, he was sentenced to serve four years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for aggravated battery to a Berwyn police officer after he repeatedly kicked the officer who was trying to him to stop swallowing bags of crack cocaine. He is currently on parole. That same year, the man was sentenced to two years for felony possession of a controlled substance for an unrelated case.

In 2010, he pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery and was sentenced to four years in an Illinois prison. A locksmith was trying to help him get into his car that had been stolen in a carjacking, when the man reportedly pointed a handgun and told him: “You know what time it is. Don’t make me shoot you. Gimme what you got,” according to the charges. The locksmith handed over his wallet and cellphone. He was originally charged with armed robbery, but pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery.

The man’s name has not yet been released. The Chicago Police Department is conducting an independent investigation of the police-involved shooting. The Cook County Sheriff’s Office said it fully intends to cooperate with the investigation.

Video provided by Cook County Sheriff's Police Department