Feb. 11--A man who apparently was using a van as a battering ram to break into a garage was shot and critically injured by an off-duty police officer in the South Chicago neighborhood this morning, authorities said.
The man was shot in the alley after trying to run down the officer in the 7900 block of South Jeffery Boulevard just after 7 a.m., police said.
One person was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn from the Jeffery Boulevard location, said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Kevin MacGregor.
The officer was at home about 7 a.m. when he and his wife heard a loud crashing sound behind their home, police said. The officer went out back to see what was going on and found a man using a van to try to break into the garage by pushing open the garage door with the vehicle.
The officer identified himself to the driver of the van, but instead of stopping, the driver instead aimed the van at the officer, police said. The officer, fearing for his life, shot at the driver and struck him, police said.
The Independent Police Review Authority was investigating an incident in which an officer fired shots, a spokesman said.
Photos from the scene show a man in dark clothing on a stretcher, being tended to by Fire Department paramedics in an alley.
Copyright 2012 - Chicago Tribune
