A self-admitted gang member who allegedly had several grams of heroin was arrested the night of March 3 after being chased by officers from four local police departments.

A Forest Park officer and his partner from the Cicero Police Department were patrolling Cicero’s streets Thursday night as part of the multi-departmental West Suburban Directed Gang Enforcement (WEDGE) tactical unit when they pulled over Ulis Murphy, 32, of Berwyn, for a traffic violation.

When the Forest Park officer walked up to Murphy’s car, he reported the smell of “unburned cannabis” coming from the vehicle, so he ordered Murphy and a passenger to get out. The passenger complied, but Murphy, who was driving, allegedly forced the door shut and sped off.

Police searched a computer system for Murphy’s name, after learning it from his vehicle information, and discovered that he was a member of the Four Corner Hustlers street gang. A WEDGE press release said Murphy admitted to being a member of the gang.

Murphy wasn’t chased, but his Berwyn address was sent to a River Forest officer who staked out his home until Murphy showed up as the passenger in another car.

As WEDGE units traveled to assist the River Forest officer, the car left and headed into Chicago, eventually stopping at Roosevelt Road and Central Avenue.

Several police officers converged on the vehicle in an attempt to apprehend Murphy – the reporting officer said this was difficult because Murphy is 6’1″ and 350 lbs. Murphy tried to flee again, but several officers managed to tackle and Taser him into submission. According to the WEDGE press release, Murphy had several packages of heroin intended for delivery.

He was arrested and taken to Forest Park police headquarters, where he was slapped with a number of offenses including three counts of resisting arrest and individual counts of possession of a controlled substance, possession with the intent to deliver, possession with the intent to deliver within 1,000 feet of a school (Christ the King Jesuit College Preparatory School in Chicago), fleeing an officer, obstructing an officer and driving with a suspended license. He was also issued four traffic citations.

Murphy is currently incarcerated at Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet. The arrest violated the conditions of his March 19, 2010 parole. He was previously in jail for drug charges as well.