DOWNTOWN — A man accused of hitting a Chicago police officer with his car on DuSable Lake Shore Drive over the weekend has been ordered held without bail.
Around 8 p.m. Friday, officers pulled over a driver in a car they believed was connected to an aggravated battery to a Cook County Sheriff’s police officer, prosecutors said Sunday. As an officer approached the car’s driver, the vehicle reversed — striking the officer and breaking his leg, officials said.
The officer then fired his gun, striking the passenger side door of a nearby vehicle, but nobody was hurt, prosecutors said.
The 23-year-old driver of the car, Tajze Mullins, was charged with one felony count of attempted first-degree murder, two felony counts of aggravated assault to a peace officer, one felony count of obstructing identification and one misdemeanor count of escape, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability is also investigating the incident since the officer first his gun.
The incident happened at the intersection of DuSable Lake Shore Drive and Roosevelt Road, police said. After striking the officer and a police vehicle, Mullins fled the scene by weaving through other parked cars, prosecutors said.
Video captured by a nearby Uber driver showed the incident unfold, prosecutors said.
Several squad cars and a police helicopter followed Mullins as he drove south, eventually arresting him at 7120 S. Lafayette Ave., where he was hiding under a porch with the keys to his car, prosecutors said. A weapon was recovered at the scene, police said.
Once Mullins was in custody at the police station, he climbed into the ceiling of the interview room and caused “extensive damage to the ceiling, electrical and duct work,” prosecutors said.
“Officers found the defendant in the ceiling and placed him into custody,” Assistant State’s Attorney Jack Ruggiero said Sunday, according to the Tribune.
The officer who was hit by the car is hospitalized in good condition with a broken leg, police said. The officer will be placed on a routine administrative leave for 30 days, as COPA investigates the incident.
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