Waukegan police officers surrounded suspects in a stolen vehicle over the weekend on Saturday. CBS 2’s Mai Martinez reports.
Waukegan police were involved in a confrontation between officers and suspects in a stolen car case on Saturday, December 2, 2017.
A witness captured the confrontation on video, K-9 Police Officer Anthony Orozco’s K-9 partner, Cash, is heard barking as the suspects refuse to get out of the vehicle.
Using batons, officers broke a window and pulled the driver out, but a passenger jumped over to the driver’s seat and took off with the stolen car — dragging and injuring a Waukegan police officer.
“This situation could’ve escalated to deadly force. However, it didn’t. I was proud of the restraint that they showed.”
— Police Chief Wayne Walles
Orozco said it was just too dangerous to shoot with all the people that were in the area. He says police must make split-second decisions in situations, and don’t even think about the ramifications of a video going viral when a situation is unfolding.
“When it’s happening, you don’t have time to think about any of the viral or how is this going to look on Facebook or any of that kind of stuff. It’s the last thing that’s on your mind,” he says.
“You’re thinking another task in front of you. You’re thinking about trying to keep everyone safe, including even the suspect. The last thing we want to do is use our weapons if we don’t have to.”
Chief Walles plans to use the incident to train other police officers.
^^ MOBILE? USE VOICE MIC ^^
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