A Chicago man who led police on a high-speed chase into the city early Jan. 9 was Tasered multiple times when three police officers reportedly had difficulty taking him into custody.
Forty-year-old William Ward was initially spotted by police inside his car behind Tonik bar, 7247 Roosevelt.
An officer thought Ward and another passenger were smoking marijuana, so he approached the car and knocked on the driver’s side window, where Ward was sitting.
Ward responded by putting the car in reverse and speeding away.
The pursuit took several squad cars to an alley near Harrison and Kilbourn, on Chicago’s West Side. Ward was eventually brought to a halt on foot by several officers who ran after him when he abandoned his car nearby.
According to a police report, two of the officers that detained him both deployed their Tasers when he refused to be handcuffed.
A third officer who was securing an abandoned squad car nearby arrived a short while later and also Tasered Ward when he continued to “resist arrest.”
Ward was eventually subdued and taken into custody, but the passenger eluded authorities.
Ward received two felony counts of aggravated fleeing to elude a peace officer. In addition, he was charged with three counts each of resisting arrest and improper lane usage; single counts of speeding, failure to yield, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, having a suspended or revoked driver’s license; and he was given a citation for a cannabis control offense.
Theft suspect shoots pepper spray at guard
On the afternoon of Jan. 5, police arrested a Bellwood woman who allegedly released pepper spray in the face of a Kmart security guard after stealing from the store.
Two security guards reportedly pursued 39-year-old Tonya Baker out of the 7640 Roosevelt store after they saw her try to leave without paying for several items.
Baker was stopped and asked to come back into the store, but upon her return she pulled out the pepper spray can and tried to shoot one of the guards in the face.
The guard dodged the shot, and Baker took off on foot.
An officer notified of the incident located Baker at DesPlaines and Yuba and took her into custody.
On her, police found two Nintendo games and a digital camera, which were reportedly taken from the store. She also had a box cutter and two cans of pepper spray.
Police charged her with a felony for aggravated battery and with retail theft.
DUI
A Chicago teen was arrested in the wee hours of Jan. 8 when police determined he drank too much to be driving.
Nineteen-year-old Christian Vargas was first stopped for driving with the car’s headlights off near Madison and Hannah.
After a brief conversation with Vargas, the officer determined that he had probably been drinking due to a strong odor of “alcoholic beverage emitting from the vehicle.”
What’s more, Vargas didn’t have his license, and he couldn’t prove that he had insurance for the car.
He was arrested and taken to headquarters, where a Breathalyzer was performed, and Vargas’ blood-alcohol-content registered at .180. The legal limit is .08.
Vargas was issued three felony counts of aggravated DUI; he also received single misdemeanor charges for operating an uninsured motor vehicle, driving without lights, and having no license.
These items were taken from the records of the Forest Park Police Department between Jan. 2 and Jan. 9, and represent only a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in this report has only been charged with a crime. The cases have not been adjudicated.
-Compiled by Nick Moroni
