Railroad Officer Beaten At South Side Metra Stop
CHICAGO (STMW) -- A Norfolk Southern police officer remains hospitalized after he was choked and beaten Sunday night at a Metra station on the South Side.
The incident occurred about 10:25 p.m. at the Wrightwood Metra station near 79th Street and Kedzie Avenue, police News Affairs Officer Hector Alfaro said.
The man attacked the on-duty, uniformed Norfolk Southern officer after he was told that he was trespassing on the railroad tracks, police said.
During the struggle, however, the officer was able to radio for assistance, authorities said. Officers were on scene within minutes and took the man into custody.
A police official familiar with the situation said the officer was beaten badly. When officers arrived, the man was still on top of the officer and beating him.
The 39-year-old officer was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
The suspect lives about a quarter-mile away from the Wrightwood Metra station, police said. Charges are pending against him early Monday.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)