Rock Thrown At Joliet Police Car, Suspect Runs Across Joliet Bridge

JOLIET, IL — A 24-year-old Joliet man who lives on the west side in the College Park subdivision was arrested Thursday morning after throwing a rock at a marked Joliet police car and then running away, according to Joliet police arrest logs.

After damaging the officer's back rear passenger window, Walter Witzke ran from the scene of his crime, the 100 block of North Broadway Street, according to police.

Witzke kept running and running, fleeing down the flight of stairs into the Billie Limacher Bicentennial Park and finally over the Cass Street Bridge to the east side of the Des Plaines River where he continued to ignore Joliet officers ordering him to stop, police reports show.

"Officers eventually caught up to Witzke in the Harrah’s Casino parking deck and placed him into custody without further incident," Joliet police spokesman Dwayne English informed Patch.

Witzke was booked into custody and got his mugshot taken at the nearby Joliet police station.

Then, officers let him go.

Witzke was charged with criminal damage to government property and two counts of obstructing a police officer. He was released on an I-bond.