the incident sent an officer to the hospital after investigators say he was hit by the suspect's car.
Authorities say Nicholas Sauer, 27, was shot in the head. According to police, the man allegedly abducted his 2-year-old son from southwest suburban Bridgeview. The shooting happened Sunday night in the Lawndale neighborhood when Chicago police officers approached a man near a Church's Chicken restaurant at Roosevelt Road and Independence.
Sauer had jsut finished serving six months in prison for drug possession when he was released on parole last month.
When officers confronted Sauer in the parking lot, they say, Sauer and the child got into a car. Police say the suspect hit the officer with the car and, according to authorities, that's when the officer, fearing for his life, fired shots.
"You wouldn't believe it. It was a lot of police, a lot of police, a lot of police, man, but I was just thankful that the baby was OK," said one witness.
The child, who was found in the back seat of the car, suffered a few minor injuries. He was taken to the hospital. The officer suffered a broken leg with multiple fractures.
Police say the 40-year-old officer, who is a 16-year veteran of the force, is expected to be OK and that officer was also working overtime on his day off when he was hit.
Sauer was at Stroger Hospital in critical condition.
Sauer, of Worth, is charged with child abduction, attempted murder, aggravated battery of a police officer and aggravated vehicular hijacking, according to Andy Conklin, spokesman for the Cook County State's Attorney's office.
Police allege Sauer was trying to buy drugs in the restaurant parking lot.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire - Copyright Chicago Sun-Times 2009.)
