Man Charged With Striking Cop With Car Gets No Bond
CHICAGO (STMW) -- A South Side man is being held without bond after allegedly striking a police officer with his car before leading police on a crosstown chase that started on the North Side and ended in Bridgeport early Monday.
Rodney Steele, 32, of the 4100 of South Wabash was charged Tuesday in connection with the incident, which left the officer hospitalized after he was hit by the car just after 2 a.m. Monday in the 1500 block of North Sheffield Avenue, police said.
The officer -- a 19-year veteran in his 50s -- was struck and dragged when a Jaguar that was directed into the staging area of a safety checkpoint pulled a sudden u-turn, according to Fraternal Order of Police spokesman Pat Camden.
The officer suffered injuries to his legs and arms and was taken to Northwestern Memorial in serious condition, but with non-life-threatening injuries, he said.
Steele was charged with two felonies -- attempted murder and aggravated battery to a police officer, along with misdemeanor counts of resisting police ad fleeing police, according to police.
On Tuesday, Judge Peggy Chiampas ordered Steele held without bond and set a preliminary hearing for July 7, according to Cook County State's Attorney;s office spokeswoman Tandra Simonton.
Steele was also cited for failure to wear a seatbelt, failure to obey an officer's order, disobeying a stop sign (2 counts), driving on a suspended license, no valid registration and driving more than 31 mph over the posted limit, police said.
After the vehicle struck the officer, a fellow officer opened fire, striking the car several times before it fled, Camden said.
Officers chased the vehicle to the 3000 block of South Princeton Avenue, where they arrested Steele, according to police. The chase included Kennedy and Dan Ryan expressways, Camden said.
Steele was injured during the incident, according to Camden, but police did not disclose whether he was shot or if his injuries resulted from broken glass or something else.
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