A motorist was shot by police after he ran a stop sign on the West Side and opened fire on police who pulled him over during an attack in which one Chicago police officer was shot and another seriously injured by the gunman’s car, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Cook County Judge Mary Marubio denied bail for James Callion, 28, who was not present in bond court Wednesday because he was being treated at Mount Sinai Hospital for gunshot wounds, according to prosecutors and police. Another hearing was set for Friday.
Callion is charged with three counts of attempted murder, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, aggravated battery causing bodily harm to a police officer and armed habitual criminal, after the Monday shooting in the 3000 block of West Polk Street, police said.
The officer who was pinned between two vehicles remains hospitalized at Stroger after undergoing surgery for leg injuries, according to Assistant State’s Attorney Danny Hanichak. He was expected to have at least one more surgery and be bedridden for about 12 weeks before starting rehab.
The officer who was shot suffered injuries to two fingers with bullet fragments in each finger and was also taken to the hospital, said Hanichak, before detailing what led to the attack in the Lawndale neighborhood Monday night about 9:15 p.m.
At least three officers spotted a 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix, of which Callion was the driver, only occupant and registered owner, commit a minor traffic violation in the area of South Albany Avenue and West Polk and let it slide before seeing Callion drive through a stop sign at South Sacramento Boulevard and Polk, prosecutors said.
Police SUVs blocked Callion’s car, one in front and one in back, as they stopped him, Hanichak said.
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Two officers in the SUV in front of Callion got out and approached Callion in the driver’s seat, while another officer from the SUV behind Callion walked up to the passenger side. None of the officers had their gun drawn, Hanichak said.
The officer at Callion’s side smelled cannabis and saw what looked like open alcohol between Callion’s feet and asked Callion to step out, Hanichak said, adding the officer at the passenger side saw a .40 caliber handgun to the right of Callion and told the other officers.
At the same time, a third officer and driver of the police SUV in front of Callion was walking between the SUV and Callion’s car when suddenly, Callion put his car into drive and accelerated forward directly into the officer, slamming him into a police car, Hanichak said.
The pinned-in officer saw Callion fire a shot through the open passenger-side door followed by another shot through the front windshield toward the pinned officer.
Neither of the officers was shot and they returned fire, one fired once at Callion, while the pinned officer fired four times at Callion through the windshield — hitting him multiple times, Hanichak said.
An officer was shot in the hand as he grabbed the gun-wielding Callion and wrestled him out of the car. The gun fell to the ground and was recovered, Hanichak said.
While placing Callion in custody, officers found another gun that was loaded and tucked in his waistband, Hanichak said.
Detectives found three .40-caliber shell casings inside Callion’s car and five 9 mm casings outside the car. Additional forensic testing was underway, Hanichak said. All three of the officers’ body-worn cameras captured the incident as well as a Chicago police camera at the intersection.
Callion has six felony convictions, the most recent being a residential burglary in 2014 that was reduced to a class 2 burglary with a sentence of three years in jail. Other convictions include a 2013 robbery and four additional burglaries from 2012, for which he served jail time.