Westmont Police Shooting Justifiable: Prosecutor

WESTMONT, IL – DuPage County's top prosecutor on Tuesday found a Westmont police officer was justified in shooting two burglary suspects.

Westmont Officer Robert Arndt fired 10 shots at 23-year-old Angel Martin and a 17-year-old youth in December at Laurel BMW, according to the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office.

"Every case involving the use of deadly force by a police officer, whether on or off duty, must be carefully and thoroughly investigated," State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a news release. "Such scrutiny is required to ensure the protection of the civil rights of those involved and to maintain the public’s confidence in law enforcement."

No criminal charges will be filed against Arndt, Berlin said.

About 4:30 a.m. Dec. 31, Westmont police received a call about two people trying to break into the dealership with crowbars, prosecutors said.

When officers arrived, the two suspects inside the dealership ran to a white Acura and jumped in. Two others were in the car.

The officers ordered the suspects to get out of the car. But they did not, police said. The driver, who was the 17-year-old, drove the Acura toward Arndt, prosecutors said.

The officer found himself trapped between the advancing Acura and the dealership's exterior wall, police said.

Believing the driver was trying to kill him, Arndt fired the shots at the car, prosecutors said.

The 17-year-old drove through the parking lot and over a concrete barrier, turned east on Ogden Avenue and then headed north on Route 83, police said.

Oak Brook officers pursued the car, which crashed on Route 83 just north of 22nd Street in Oakbrook Terrace. The four suspects ran away.

The 17-year-old was taken into custody after jumping from the second floor of the parking garage at Macy's in the Oak Brook Center mall, police said. He suffered a gunshot wound to the chest.

Martin was nabbed near the Lake View Nature Center building in Oakbrook Terrace. He was shot two times in his left arm and was grazed by a gunshot to his left leg, police said.

Both suspects were hospitalized.

Berlin said Officer Arndt legitimately acted in self-defense because the 17-year-old was driving directly at Arndt. The state's attorney labeled the teen's action as a "display of complete contempt for the law."