By Olivia Olander
Source Chicago Tribune
A man who authorities say stabbed a Crest Hill police officer was fatally shot by a second officer Monday in Crest Hill, according to the Will County Sheriff’s Office. Officers had been responding to a domestic battery complaint involving the man who was later killed, officials said.
The man who was fatally shot later was identified as 30-year-old Matthew Parks, according to the sheriff’s office.
Officers were sent to the 1400 block of Pioneer Road after receiving a 9-1-1 call from a woman around 6:45 p.m., during which she told the 9-1-1 dispatcher her husband had punched her in the face — and that there were children present. The dispatcher also was told the man had a knife, according to the sheriff’s office.
Investigators believe Parks may have attacked one of the responding officers as a means of provoking police to use deadly force because 9-1-1 dispatchers also said they could hear a person making comments about “suicide by police.” Dispatchers also overheard crying and arguing, officials with the sheriff’s office said.
After at least four Crest Hill police officers arrived, Parks reportedly stabbed one of them in the leg, cutting the officer’s femoral artery, the sheriff’s office said.
The injured officer was rushed to an area hospital in serious condition, before undergoing surgery for his injuries, according to the sheriff’s office. Officials released an update saying the officer made it through the surgery overnight and he was recovering as of Tuesday morning, officials said.
Authorities said after Parks attacked the officer, a police sergeant then shot Parks “several” times.
Officers tried to save Parks’ life, but he died at the location before he could be transported to a hospital, according to authorities.
The Will County Sheriff’s Office did not identify the officers involved but said the injured officer had been with the department since Sept. 2019. The sergeant who fatally shot the suspect had been with the department since Sept. 2004.
According to the sheriff’s office, the case remains under investigation by detectives, crime scene investigators and the Will/Grundy Major Crimes Task Force.
______
©2022 Chicago Tribune.
Visit chicagotribune.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
