Perfect time for this thread. From today's Chicago Sun-Times:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/1685368,w-cops-attacked-chicago-craigslist-072509.article
Three men charged for attacking off-duty cops
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<!-- Article Publish Date -->
July 25, 2009
<!-- Article By Line --> FROM STNG WIRE REPORTS
<!-- Article's First Paragraph --> <!-- BlogBurst ContentStart --> Three South Side men have been charged for allegedly attempting to rob two off-duty Markham police officers examining a car Friday night on the South Side.
One of the officers shot all three men after he was allegedly beaten with a baseball bat, authorities said.
Rodney Youngblood, 19, and William Hall, 27, both of the 7800 block of South Yates Avenue, and Daryl McClure, 27, of the 9200 block of South Clyde Avenue, were each charged at 5:13 p.m. Saturday with two counts of attempted armed robbery with a firearm, according to police News Affairs.
All three men are expected to appear for a bond hearing Sunday at the Cook County courthouse at 2600 S. California Ave., police said.
The incident happened about 10:10 p.m. in the 7800 block of South Yates Avenue, according to police News Affairs.
Markham police Deputy Chief Tony DuBois said an off-duty male and female officer went examine a car they saw on Craigslist.com when they were attacked.
“They were looking to buy a used car,” DuBois said. “They made a phone call to a guy and he said, ‘Come out and take a look, call me when you get to the address.’”
When the officers arrived, one of the men allegedly led them though a gangway to the back yard -- where the car was allegedly parked, DuBois said.
As they walked through the gangway, two men allegedly jumped out at them, one reportedly striking the male officer with a baseball bat while the other held a gun to the female officer’s head, DuBois said.
“It was an ambush,” DuBois said.
The officer who was beaten with the bat then pulled out his gun and announced he was a police officer. When the man holding the gun allegedly pointed the gun at him the officer shot all three men.
“[The officer] fired, and struck all three offenders,” DuBois said.
Chicago Police then took the men into custody.
The officer who was beaten in his chest was taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County and was released about 1:30 a.m., DuBois said. Two of the suspects were taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn and one was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, police News Affairs Officer JoAnn Taylor said.
“These criminals are trying to get a little more slick, [using the Internet] to lure you to places that don’t even exist” DuBois said of the Craigslist ambush. “It’s a shame. We are just glad our officer did a good job, and is able to live to see another day.”
“[The offenders] ran into the wrong police officers,” DuBois said. “What if they were ordinary citizens? Not trained to handle those situations? It…[could have been] tragic.”
