An off-duty Chicago police officer fired his weapon as he struggled with two men he suspected of robbing a woman a block from Wrigley Field on Tuesday night, about 20 minutes after a game ended, police said.
No one was injured and the two suspects were taken into custody, according to Anthony Guglielmi, chief spokesman for the Chicago Police Department.
The off-duty Ogden District officer saw a woman being robbed by two men about 10:40 p.m. in the 1000 block of West Grace Street, Guglielmi said.
“He’s off-duty and he sees some type of robbery,’’ Guglielmi said. “The officer approached the men, identified himself as an off-duty police officer, and a confrontation ensued between the officer and the offenders.”
During the struggle, the officer discharged his service weapon but no one was hit, Guglielmi said. The two men were placed under arrest. No charges had been filed as of 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.
It was not clear if the suspects were armed or why the officer fired his weapon.
“We’re not sure if it’s intentional or not … IPRA will comb through the specifics,’’ Guglielmi said, referring to the Independent Police Review Authority, which investigates any time police fire a weapon.
A witness said a large group was walking north on Kenmore from the Cubs game when the shooting occurred.
Joey Jagminas, 20, said he was driving down the block with his girlfriend when he saw a man — who turned out to be the officer — run through the street and grab someone.
“He grabbed the one nearest to the street, the one I had the clearest view of,’’ said Jagminas, who was about 8 feet away. “He grabbed him, his upper body and shoulder.
“My girlfriend and I assumed this was a drunken post-Cubs game street fight, as did the people who stopped on the street,” he said.
The man who was grabbed was “definitely surprised’’ and “jolted” around, Jagminas said. The two began wrestling on the grass between the sidewalk and the street, he said. The other man appeared to be trying to pull the officer off, he said. “It looked pretty bad for a street fight. It was a full-on fight.”
A few bystanders began to intervene, holding up their hands as they tried to defuse the fight, he said. Jagminas said he stopped his car and was getting out to join the group when he heard “a loud crack, unmistakably a gunshot.”
“Everyone froze,” he said. “You kind of heard your ears ringing. It was foggy so it kind of kept the sound isolated almost.”
He looked up and saw the officer standing with both hands on a gun, pointing it at the two men. “It looked like the traditional police stance,’’ Jagminas said. One of the suspects was standing as the other was getting up from a crouch. The officer pulled a badge from under his shirt as he kept yelling “police’’ and “get on the ground,” Jagminas said.
The officer pulled out his handcuffs as about eight police cars raced into the intersection from both directions. Jagminas said he heard the officer tell the suspects, “You robbed that lady down the street.”
Original Article from Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-off-duty-officer-fires-gun-wrigleyville-20160510-story.html