Forest Park police have released new details of a fatal shooting by an officer last week, saying it happened when a suspect in a hit-and-run pulled up at an intersection where a squad car was waiting to turn.
The officer had been on the lookout for a silver Volkswagen when a car matching the description pulled up at Jackson Boulevard and Harlem Avenue around 6:15 p.m. Friday, according to Deputy Chief Michael Keating.
The driver of the Volkswagen threw the car in reverse and the officer started to back up too, but another car had pulled up and blocked him, Keating said.
"So he just gets out on foot to order him to stop the (Volkswagen) and at that point the officer was able to get in front of the stolen car to get him to stop," Keating said. "And that’s when the car lurched toward the officer."
The car sped toward the officer, and he fired into the Volkswagen, killing Marco Gomez, 26, Keating said. "I believe the officer was standing like literally right in front of the car," he said. "His life was in danger."
Neither Keating nor the Illinois State Police, who are investigating the shooting, would say whether a weapon was recovered in the Volkswagen.
Authorities believe Gomez stole the car from a home on Bloomingdale Road in Glendale Heights the week before. On Friday afternoon, there was a hit-and-run crash involving the Volkswagen, which was last seen heading down Jackson Boulevard.
"The last thing anyone heard was the car was last seen on Jackson toward Oak Park," Keating said. "So again, I’m surmising, but he’s probably realizing Jackson would probably be the street you’d want to be on."
The officer got to Jackson but thought he had missed the car, Keating said. The officer was planning to make a left turn onto Harlem, either to turn around or move on to the next call, when he noticed the Volkswagen pulling up.
The officer has been placed on paid administrative leave, as is customary after a shooting, Keating said.
The state police public integrity unit is also reviewing whether the use of legal force was justified. "The investigation is currently active and ongoing," said Master Sgt. Jason Bradley of the Illinois State Police. He declined to comment further.
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