Violent Arrest Includes Officer's Own Stun Gun Going Off — On Him
ELGIN, Ill. (STMW) -- A struggle between northwest suburban Elgin police and a 40-year-old man Sunday morning ended up with the suspect and two of the officers being sent to hospitals and the suspect facing four felony charges.
One of the officers drew his stun gun, but ended up shooting himself in hand.
Police said the incident began about 7:45 a.m. Sunday when a cab driver called to report customer, who had been picked up in Hanover Park and dropped off at an Elgin apartment building, had failed to pay his fare. The man went into an apartment, but never came back out to pay up, the cabbie said.
Officers located the rider inside the apartment, convinced him to pay the fare and left. Suspicious about the name the man had given to them, they checked a police database of photos and found that the man appeared to match the description of a Glendale Heights man with four outstanding arrest warrants.
Officers returned to the apartment building to arrest him. Before taking him in, they instructed the man — who was naked — to put some clothes on, according to police accounts. That's when he allegedly tackled one officer to the ground. A second officer drew a stun gun, but it misfired, striking that officer in the hand instead of hitting the suspect.
The man bolted from the apartment, but one of the officers was able to tackle him. Eventually officers subdued the man by using a stun gun on him.
The man, identified as Federico Solarzano, was charged with felony aggravated battery and three felony counts of resisting arrest, plus a misdemeanor charge of obstructing identification. He was taken to Sherman Hospital and later Presence Saint Joseph Hospital, then was taken to the city jail after.
According to reports, two police officers also were treated at Sherman Hospital's emergency room — one for puncture wounds caused by the stun gun misfire and the other for injuries to his shoulder and hip.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
