Suburban Cops Who Caught Escaped Inmate To Be Honored For Bravery

PALOS HILLS, Ill. (CBS) -- Three veteran Palos Hills police officers were being honored Thursday for the capture of Kenneth Conley, one of two federal prisoners who escaped from the Metropolitan Correctional Center in December, using a rope made of bedsheets.

WBBM Newsradio's Dave Berner reports Conley's cellmate, Jose Banks, wa captured three days after their Dec. 18 escape, but Conley was on the run for more than two weeks, until three Palos Hills cops spotted him outside an apartment complex.

Palos Hills Deputy Chief Jeff Cucio said the officers – Lt. Warren Becker, Sgt. Robert Mankowske, and Officer Kevin Price – were responding to a call of a suspicious person on Jan. 4 at an apartment complex at 103rd St. and 86th Avenue in Palos Hills, when they spotted Conley.

They didn't know who Conley was when they first confronted him.

"They ended up interacting with him, and seeing that he did have a pistol on him. One of our officers ended up in a brief struggle with him, removing the weapon, and then the suspect fled on foot, so our other officers ended up giving chase, and we took him into custody at that point," Cucio said.

The department called their actions outstanding police work, and an act of bravery.

"Our officers had a great disregard for their own well-being, when capturing a suspect who actually had a gun on him; definitely in danger," Cucio said.

A ceremony honoring the officers was scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at Palos Hills City Hall.