# Officer's peril lands two in jail



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

*Officer's peril lands two in jail; one suspect faces preliminary charge of attempted murder of a police officer* *By TONY REID - H&R Staff Writer*

DECATUR - A Decatur police officer fought for his life Sunday evening in a desperate struggle with a suspect who allegedly tried to grab his service weapon and then attempted to drown the officer, yelling "I got you; you're dead."

The officer, 30-year-old Steve Hagemeyer, finally overcame the 42-year-old suspect after clubbing him several times with a baton.

The suspect, who lives in Decatur, is being held in Macon County Jail. He faces preliminary charges of attempted murder of a police officer, attempting to disarm a police officer, aggravated battery to a police officer and aggravated resisting and obstructing a police officer.

A detective reportedly later found a bag containing three rocks of crack cocaine, which the man had allegedly concealed on his body, and the suspect has since been charged with possession of a controlled substance.

Another suspect who fled before the struggle with Hagemeyer took place was later caught by police and jailed on a preliminary charge of aggravated resisting and obstructing a police officer. The 47-year-old Decatur man also was wanted on a previous charge of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old boy.

Police Lt. Jim Chervinko said the incident Sunday began about 7 p.m., when Hagemeyer was on patrol and spotted the suspects acting suspiciously in the parking lot of Wal-Mart at 4224 N. Prospect. The men fled at high speed in a pickup truck without lights and were pursued and stopped by the officer in the 4700 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, outside of an apartment complex.

"The suspect begins to run, the officer tackles him and the suspect tries to punch the officer, swinging his arms wildly," said Chervinko, who said the suspect tried to run from the officer two more times before both ended up in a nearby pond, the suspect punching the officer in the head and chest and the officer hitting back to defend himself. Then, the man tried to remove the officer's gun, and when the officer moved to stop him, the suspect attempted to shove the policeman's head under the water while yelling, "I got you, you're dead."

In a sworn statement, Hagemeyer said: "(He then) placed both of his hands on my head and laughingly stated 'I got you.' "


Chervinko said the officer tried to subdue the suspect with a Taser stun device, but it didn't work, and then he used the baton. He said Hagemeyer, a patrolman for seven years, later needed medical treatment for a sprained left wrist, sprained right thumb and swollen left knee; he was unable to walk following the struggle and was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. The suspect also was injured, but his wounds were not serious.

Both suspects are jailed in lieu of posting bond and due to be arraigned Monday.


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## Goose (Dec 1, 2004)

Um...so they were both in a pond, and he tried using a TASER? 8-O


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