ECORSE (WWJ) - A foot chase with suspects wanted in connection to a murder turned even more dangerous for an Ecorse police officer after one of the fleeing men open fired late Monday night.
Ecorse Police Chief Jerry Flowers spoke with WWJ's Terri Lee Chandler about the incident, that occurred around 11:30 p.m. on June 19. Flowers said police were conducting a routine traffic stop in the area of Seventh Street and Hyacinth when a maroon Ford Fusion slowly drove by.
"Shortly after that, [the officer] received an alert that that vehicle was wanted in a homicide investigation," Flowers explained. "Coincidentally, the vehicle had just passed by two other officers, so they turned around and they conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle, they boxed them in."
Flowers said officers encounter three people in the vehicle, including a female driver and two males, one in the front passenger seat and another male in the back seat.
All three occupants were asked to get out of the car, Flowers added. The man from the backseat was ordered to approach an officer so he could be secured.
The man initially complied before he ran off.
According to Flowers, a group of people who lived in an apartment complex had witnessed the unfolding event on their porch before one of the residents intervened.
"One of the people waived the guy who was fleeing from the officer into the house," Flowers told WWJ. "The officer was pursuing the person who was waving the suspect into the house [when they] pulled out a gun and fired a single shot at the officer."
The officer was not hit and immediately took cover while backup was called. In a matter of moments, police departments from all over the area responded to the scene and surrounded building.
"But by that time the two suspects had fled possibly out of the rear of the apartment complex," Flowers said.
The chief added that the female suspect was taken into custody, but police are still investigating the incident in hopes they can track down the two men who got away and get them off the street.
"Any person that would take a shot at a police officer, a normal citizen doesn't have a chance," Flowers continued. "So we have to try to do our best to make sure everybody is safe and these officers put their lives on the line every day to make sure that happens."
Anyone with any information about this incident has been asked to contact the Ecorse Police at (313) 381-0900 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP (1-800-773-2587).
