March 02--Two alleged gang members were charged with attempted murder and a third released after they were accused of trying to run over an off-duty Chicago Police officer who booted them from a Little Village restaurant for their rowdy behavior Wednesday night.
Oscar Cervantes, 19, of 3766 W 75th Place and Raymundo Rodriguez,17, of the 2500 block of Kenilworth Avenue in Berwyn, were charged with one count each of attempted murder, said police News Affairs Officer Robert Perez.
Cervantes was expected to appear in court today, while Rodriguez, who was the driver, remains hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the head after the officer shot him, according to another police source. A third suspect was released without being charged.
The officer, who was working as a security guard at the Mexican restaurant in the 3100 block of West 26th Street, fired two shots into the car, grazing the vehicle's driver in the head after he pinned the cop against a fence in the parking lot, according to Pat Camden, a spokesman for the Fraternal Order of Police, which represents the department's rank-and-file.
Chicago police confirmed the shooting, but couldn't provide specific details, saying it remained under investigation.
The incident began at about 9:40 p.m. Wednesday when the officer ejected the three young men because they were "acting crazy" inside the restaurant along the busy 26th Street business corridor, Camden said. The situation quickly escalated when the officer went outside to make sure the men had left.
"The gang bangers, at that point, tried to run him over in their car," Camden said.
The car, missing the officer on its first pass, quickly turned back toward him and pinned him against a fence at the business, until the officer was able to climb on to the car's hood, Camden said.
The officer then fired through the windshield, striking the driver. The driver made a quick turn to flee, tossing the officer to the pavement, Camden said.
The three men sped away from the scene, but the driver apparently lost control of the car and struck another vehicle on 31st Street near Kedzie Avenue, Camden said.
Both the officer and the driver accused of trying to hit him were taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, Camden said. The driver struck by the fleeing vehicle was also taken to an area hospital for non-serious injuries, Camden added.
The incident, Camden said, highlights perils that police officers face both on and off duty.
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