Taser Subdues Homeless Man Charged With 2 Felonies

JOLIET, IL - A 43-year-old homeless man was zapped with a police Taser on Wednesday afternoon. The man ran from police and repeatedly threatened to hit them with what turned out by a chunk of asphalt, according to police. After being tased, Shauntel Dudley ended up at the Will County Adult Detention Facility. He's being charged with two felonies, aggravated assault against a police officer and resisting a police officer.

According to police, Dudley noticed a Joliet squad car near the intersection of Van Buren Street and Mayor Art Schultz Drive around 2 p.m. and he began staring at the officer, with wide eyes and an angry scowl. The man had been the recipient of a police officer welfare check in the past because of issues concerning mental illness, police said. Next, Dudley grabbed what officers thought was a large rock or a brick. "The officer told him to drop the brick, which he did not do," said Deputy Police Chief Ed Gregory. "The officer gave him another order to drop it, and this time (Dudley) raised it in an aggressive manner as a weapon."

Next came a police chase after Dudley refused to follow commands. Police chased the homeless man across Scott Street. Eventually, officers caught up with Dudley and deployed a taser. "Both probes hit him," Gregory said. An ambulance responded to the scene to remove the probes from Dudley, police said.

Dudley was taken into custody around 3 p.m. and taken to the nearby Will County jail.

It turned out the large object in Dudley's hands wasn't a brick or a large rock.

"He had a large 5 by 5 piece of asphalt," Gregory said.

Gregory said the officers were absolutely in the right to use their taser against Dudley. "There's no doubt about that," he said. "Using a taser greatly reduces the severity of the injuries to ourselves and the assailant."

In Wednesday's incident, Joliet police subdued Dudley without harm to him or the officers, Gregory added.

Booking mugshot via Will County Sheriff's Department