Chicago Officer Accidentally Shot by Colleague

May 7, 2013
The police officer was shot in the leg Monday night when another officer fired at a charging dog.

An on-duty Chicago police officer was shot in the leg Monday night when a police officer fired at a charging dog in the Englewood neighborhood, authorities said.

The officer is expected to survive, Chicago Police Department News Affairs Officer Hector Alfaro said.

The shooting happened about 9 p.m. in the 1200 block of West 72nd Place, as Englewood District officers were responding to a call of a burglary in progress, according to a statement from police News Affairs.

Two officers and a supervisor proceeded to the second floor landing of the building, where they were confronted by a vicious dog, according to police.

When the dog charged toward them, an officer fired a single shot that struck the dog and also traveled through the officer's thigh, according to a police source who was not authorized to speak on the record. It remained unclear whether the bullet struck the officer or the dog first, the source said.

Paramedics took a 42-year-old man in good condition to John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, Chicago Fire Department Chief Juan Hernandez said.

The officer has since been released.

Investigators from the Chicago Independent Police Review Authority responded to the scene, spokesman Larry Merritt said.

Copyright 2013 - Chicago Tribune

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

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