SUV Rams Police Car, Officer Shoots Driver In Lawndale
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Chicago police officer shot a driver who allegedly rammed a police car late Wednesday night at a gas station in the Lawndale neighborhood.
Police said, around 11:20 p.m., officers spotted an SUV in the parking lot of a gas station in the 3900 block of West Roosevelt Road, which was wanted in an earlier call of shots fired. When officers tried to approach the vehicle, the opened fire as the SUV turned toward them.
"The police car came down, and made a quick U-turn, and came back this way, and all of a sudden a few seconds later I heard the shot, boom," said witness Eric Godyl.
As the man was loaded into an ambulance, onlookers shouted at police, asking what happened, until a large group of officers advanced and sent them back across the street.
Police said officers spotted an SUV wanted in connection to an earlier call of shots fired. Officers were approaching on foot when the situation escalated, according to Sgt. Al Stinites, a police spokesman.
"The driver sped up towards the policeman, striking a police car and a fence. During the course of these actions, the police officer did fire his weapon, striking the offender in the wrist," Stinites said.
No officers were injured.
The suspect was taken to the hospital, where his condition was stabilized.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability was investigating. The officer who fired the shot will be placed on desk duty for 30 days, as is routine in police shootings.
