Man Shot While Allegedly Trying To Rob Cop Found Fit For Trial

WAUKEGAN, IL — A man who was shot in 2017 after police said he drove a stolen car to the Waukegan Police Department and tried to rob an officer was found fit for trial last month. Prosecutors have previously ruled the shooting was justified.

Edward Prado, 27, of Waukegan, faces charges of attempted aggravated robbery, possession of a stolen vehicle, aggravated assault of a police officer and attempting to disarm a police officer.

Lake County Circuit Judge Christopher Stride ruled that Prado can face the charges on April 23, reversing a decision from a December 2018 fitness hearing that found he was unfit to be tried. The public defender representing Prado is seeking his inclusion in the county's mental health court, called Therapeutic Intensive Monitoring, but prosecutors said he first must agree to plead guilty to be eligible for the program, according to the Associated Press and court records.

A Lake County State's Attorney's Office review of an Illinois State Police investigation into the Dec. 26, 2017, shooting found the officer was justified. The investigation found that Prado had stolen the car earlier that night and gone to a store in Waukegan were he purchased the BB gun.

Prado then headed to the station and confronted the officer in his marked squad car parked outside the station, the investigation found. He demanded the officer hand over his weapon. The officer declined, instead shooting Prado at short range out of the squad car window.

Video from a Waukegan police officer's body-worn camera from Dec. 26 (Waukegan PD)

Earlier:

• Waukegan Man Charged After Getting Shot By Police
• Police Shooting Found Justified By Prosecutors After ISP Probe