A Burnham police officer, hailed as a hero for killing a man who had kidnapped and threatened the life of a 4-year-old boy, made a tactical decision that saved the boy’s life, Burnham’s police chief said Sunday.
Police Chief James Crull said the officer–whose name he would not release–acted properly. The officer, who has been on the force a year, fired his weapon when the kidnapper threatened to kill the boy after a five-second countdown.
“The offender gave police on the scene an ultimatum and he started his count,” Crull said. “The officer took his shot. He had a clear view and adjusted his position. He had the opportunity and took it.
“With this man’s demeanor, they (the officers) felt he was going to shoot this child. He took the proper course of action.”
Police would not release the boy’s name.
Crull said an officer in a situation such as the one Saturday must make a split-second decision about shooting, and it usually hinges on whether the subject is going to cause bodily harm to someone else and if any action by the officer would hurt bystanders.
“All situations are different. There are no hard-and-fast rules,” Crull said.
The episode happened about 4 p.m. Saturday after Alexter Brooks, 31, of 940 Bellwood Drive, Bellwood, led police on an 11-mile chase from Calumet City to Chicago’s South Side on the Bishop Ford Freeway.
The chase began after Brooks was seen by an off-duty Calumet City officer attempting an illegal credit card transaction at Kohl’s Department Store at the River Oaks Shopping Center at 159th Street and Torrence Avenue.
Brooks–a convicted bank robber paroled from prison last February–fled Kohl’s and was pursued on foot by the officer in the parking lot. Brooks kidnapped the boy, who was with his parents.
A Calumet City police officer fired one shot at Brooks in the lot, but no other shots were fired because the lot was too crowded, said Calumet City Police Chief George Vallis.
A security videotape from Kohl’s that police released Sunday night showed Brooks holding a silver gun in his right hand, and with his left hand, grabbing the boy by the shirt.
The tape shows Brooks opening the door of a 1985 Toyota MR2, pushing the child onto the passenger seat, then climbing over the boy to get to the driver’s seat.
Brooks then sped away, firing during the chase at officers from Calumet City, Burnham and the Illinois state police who were pursuing him. After exiting the expressway, Brooks crashed his car near Palmer Park, but carjacked a passing station wagon while holding the boy and shooting at police. Brooks crashed again a mile away on West 111th Street.
He got out of the stolen station wagon, walked backward down the street and stopped on the porch of a house, where he held the child in a headlock and threatened to kill him at a count of five.
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That is when police said the Burnham officer–standing about 35 feet away–killed Brooks, shooting him in the head. A female companion of Brooks, who was in her 30s, was in custody and charges were pending.