Woman Accused Of Shooting Chicago Cop Saved By Bulletproof Vest In Court For 1st Time

CHICAGO, IL — The woman accused of shooting a Chicago police officer whose bulletproof vest probably saved his life during the incident on the West Side earlier this month appeared in court for the first time stemming from the May 12 shooting, the Chicago Tribune reports. Deangela Eaton, 25, had been hospitalized after officers returned fire, hitting her several times. At Eaton's hearing Tuesday, her lawyers said she was still recuperating from her gunshot wounds and that she had no longer had feeling in one of her arms, the report added.

Eaton, of the 200 block of North Kenneth Avenue, was charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, and she was ordered held without bail May 15. The day before the shooting, Eaton missed her court date in connection with a misdemeanor charge of aggravated assault of a peace officer in connection with a February incident in the Englewood neighborhood, according to the Tribune. She had been out on bail at the time, the report added. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for the West Side and Chicago — or other neighborhoods. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

RELATED: Bulletproof Vest Saves Chicago Cop's Life In West Side Shooting

The shooting involving the Chicago police officers happened at about 2:30 p.m. May 12, in the 4600 block of West Maypole Avenue in the West Garfield Park neighborhood. According to police, Eaton opened fire on a plaincothes officer who was in the area on a "narcotics mission" with his partner and approached Eaton and a man acting suspicious. The officer, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, was hit in the chest, but he and his partner were able to return fire, shooting her multiple times in the upper body, police said.

Eaton was taken to and treated at Stroger Hospital in critical condition. She needed to use a cane during Tuesday's court appearance, the Tribune reports. The officer who was wounded was hospitalized at Loyola University Medical Center and released after being treated. At the time of the shooting, Superintendent Eddie Johnson and Dr. Kristen Donaldson, an emergency medicine physician who treated the wounded officer, both said the vest the cop was wearing saved his life.

RELATED: Woman Accused Of Shooting Chicago Cop Wearing Life-Saving Bulletproof Vest Charged

"Thank goodness his bulletproof vest stopped the round," Johnson said during a May 12 briefing on the shooting.

According to Cook County prosecutors Tuesday, May 30, Eaton's shots hit the officer's flashlight, which was strapped to the bulletproof vest, and then the vest, according to the Tribune. The round that hit the left side of the vest left scorch marks and a hole where the officer's heart was, the report added.

Police allegedly found a 9mm handgun 25 to 30 feet from Eaton, the report stated. The weapon still was loaded with four live rounds, and a spent shell casing was stuck in the firearm's slide lock, the report added.

More via the Chicago Tribune

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