Man Charged With Striking, Dragging Police Officer In Hyde Park
CHICAGO (STMW) -- A 26-year-old South Side man has been charged with striking and then dragging a police officer with a vehicle Friday night in the Hyde Park neighborhood.
The on-duty officer, assigned to the Gang Enforcement Unit, was struck and dragged by a vehicle about 10:45 p.m. near the 5300 block of South Lake Shore Drive, police News Affairs Officer Joshua Purkiss said.
The officer's partner then fired his weapon at the vehicle, but no one was struck, Purkiss said.
The offender fled the scene and the vehicle was recovered in the 6700 block of South Jeffery Boulevard, Purkiss said.
The alleged driver of that car, 27-year-old Christopher Hartzol, of the 8700 block of South Ridgeland Avenue, was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated battery to a police officer, according to police News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli.
Hartzol was also cited for driving over the speed limit and negligent driving, Mirabelli said.
At a hearing on Saturday, bond was set at $75,000 for Hartzol.
The officer struck by the vehicle suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was treated and released from Northwestern Memorial Hospital, police said.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
