Man Tased Trying To Grab Cop's Gun After Fleeing Stop, Crashing

EVANSTON, IL — A Des Plaines man accused of fleeing a traffic stop and crashing into a building before trying to grab an Evanston police officer's gun and getting tased Wednesday morning was being held without bond Friday. Ryan K. MacNab, 29, of the 8800 block of Northshore Drive, was arrested around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday morning following a pair of encounters with Evanston cops.

Police said the incident began when they got a call from an employee about to open up at bank in the 600 block of Chicago Avenue that a group of people in a car were acting suspiciously out front. The caller was concerned the trio may have been about to commit a robbery at the bank. Police now believe the group may have been about to shoplift from the nearby grocery store in the Southpoint Plaza, but they were dissuaded by the arrival of police.

By the time police got there, two people had exited out of the car, and the driver had left the scene. The passengers, a 46-year-old Evanston man and a 32-year-old Chicago woman, were interviewed by officers and released without charges.

An officer pulled over a Hyundai Sonata matching the description given by the bank employee about two blocks away in the 600 block of Hinman Avenue. During the stop, the driver, now identified as MacNab, appeared to swallow some narcotics, police said. He then sped away and was last seen heading west on Madison Street.

A little while later, an officer driving east down Main Street about 1.5 miles away spotted the silver Hyundai crashed into a building on the northwest corner of the intersection with Fowler Avenue out of the corner of his eye turned around, according to police.

"He kind of sees it out of the corner of his eye driving past," said Cmdr. Ryan Glew. "And the guy is then fleeing on foot."

Glew said police chased MacNab a short distance up a side street and caught up to him. As they were trying to take him into custody, he allegedly grabbed an officer's holstered gun before being tased.

Two officers were taken to the hospital to be checked out for minor injuries, including the officer whose gun he tried to grab, according to police.

Prosecutors later approved four felony counts. MacNab was charged with three counts of aggravated resisting arrest and one count of attempting to disarm a police officer. He also picked up one misdemeanor count of fleeing and eluding, along with four traffic citations – one for failure to reduce speed and three for failing to signal.

MacNab was ordered held without bond at Cook County Jail ahead of his next court appearance May 4 in Skokie.

Following his arrest, MacNab was checked out by paramedics for any possible medical issues resulting from the crash, getting tased and whatever he may have swallowed.

"Swallowing crack cocaine in plastic, I don't think is actually all that dangerous – in the swallowing narcotics realm," Glew said. "Swallowing heroin and fentanyl could be bad, bad news in comparison."

» Earlier: Driver Fleeing Evanston Police Crashes Into Building