Officer Injured In First Of Two Failed Escape Attempts: Sheriff

Highland Park IL

06 October, 2021

4:40 PM

Description

WAUKEGAN, IL — Authorities said a man awaiting trial for battering an officer while fleeing police in Deerfield earlier this year struck and injured a Highland Park officer at the Lake County Courthouse. Anthony Cauley, 29, of Oak Park, was charged with an additional count of aggravated battery to a police officer and escape after he twice tried and failed to escape custody Tuesday, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office. In the first instance, Cauley ran out of a court hearing on the seventh floor of the courthouse tower, sheriff's office spokesperson Lt. Chris Covelli told Patch. In the second, he tried to run away from officers after being taken to Lake County Jail. Cauley was previously charged with aggravated battery to police and resisting arrest in connection with a series of hit-and-run crashes and a police chase that ended after officers shocked him repeatedly with a Taser on May 27. According to court records, prosecutors subsequently approved two counts of driving under the influence, as well as a series of traffic offenses, stemming from the same incident. Cauley was in court Tuesday afternoon for a case management conference on the charges. He was out on bail at the time, but after failing a drug test — one of the conditions of his bail — a judge ordered that it be revoked and he be taken into custody, Covelli said. After learning he was headed to jail, Cauley took off running. Two officers gave chase, including a court security officer from the sheriff's office and a sergeant from the Highland Park Police Department who was in the courtroom for a different case, according to the sheriff's office. After fleeing into the foyer outside the courtroom, Covelli said Cauley ran directly at the sergeant, elbowing him in the head. The sergeant and court security officers were soon able to take Cauley into custody. The sergeant was later treated and released from a local hospital for his head injury, according to Covelli. Cauley developed a medical issue after officers placed him under arrest, so he was also briefly hospitalized. Upon his release, sheriff's office staff took him to the Lake County Jail, where he made another escape attempt. Shortly after his arrival, Cauley tried to flee through a door that officers had opened while moving a different inmate, according to Covelli. The door did not lead out of the jail, and officers stopped him before he reached the next security door. Highland Park police did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the incident Wednesday morning. A judge ordered Cauley jailed until he can provide the $200,000 cash portion of his bail. He is due back in court Oct. 12. Sheriff John Idleburg said in a statement that Tuesday's attack shows what it is like to work for his office. "This is an example of the unpredictable nature of what our staff encounter on a daily basis. Battering a police officer is unacceptable, plain and simple," Idleburg said. "I am thankful the Highland Park Sergeant was not seriously injured and thankful my staff was not injured." Invite a friend to subscribe to free Patch newsletters and real-time email alerts.