Dashcam Video Shows Attack, Strangulation on Illinois Officer During Traffic Stop

Police tape. (Susan Montoya Bryan/AP Photo)

Illinois authorities released the dashcam footage of a traffic stop incident in which they say an officer was attacked and strangled until the point he “lost the ability to breathe.”

Before being strangled, the unidentified officer was struck repeatedly in the head and body on the evening of June 21 before one of the vehicle’s passengers applied “significant force to his windpipe,” causing him to lose the ability to breathe, the Aurora Illinois Police Department said in a statement late on Wednesday.

As the incident unfolded, additional officers arrived at the scene and detained the three suspects.

Following an investigation, authorities have identified the suspects as Sheba Taylor, 26, Jennifer Taylor, 24, and Paul Sherrod Taylor, 28. They had their charges upgraded to attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery, and aggravated assault on July 16 by a grand jury in Kane County.

The dashcam video appears to show two suspects on top of an Aurora Police Department Officer on June 21, 2021. (Courtesy of Aurora Illinois Police Department)

“Because of the strangulation and because of the research that we know about how quickly it is for somebody to lose their life as a result of somebody preventing them from being able to breathe, we believe that the proper charge was attempted first-degree murder,” Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser said, according to FOX 32 Chicago.

The officer initiated a traffic stop at about 10:30 p.m. on the day of the attack after the suspects rolled through a stop sign, police said.

In the dashcam video, the officer is seen approaching the vehicle as the driver starts yelling obscenities out the window.

“Why are you following me ... I didn’t do anything wrong,” the driver is heard saying as the officer urged everyone to stay inside the vehicle, or they might risk the possibility of getting arrested for obstruction.

Shortly after, a rear passenger who is female was placed under arrest for obstruction after repeatedly refusing to follow orders, prompting the driver to exit the vehicle and telling the officer he is going to fight him if he touches her.

“The officer informed the driver that he was also under arrest for obstructing. At that moment, the driver took off running, and the officer ran after him,” police said. “The two passengers also followed the officer yelling obscenities. The female rear passenger approached the officer as they ran, the officer turned around and grabbed her arm to take her into custody, but she slipped out of his grip.”

The dashcam video released by police didn’t include the full picture of the attack, though as additional officers arrived at the scene, footage from another angle appears to show two female suspects on top of the officer, pinning him to the ground and sitting on his head, causing a significant force to the officer’s windpipe.

Police said the suspects repeatedly struck the officer “with closed fists” in the head and body before being strangled until the point he lost consciousness.

“A minor infraction, that likely would have resulted in a citation at most, turned into an officer fighting for his life,” Aurora Police Chief Kristen Ziman said, ABC 7 Chicago reported. “We are sending a collaborative message that these violent offenders, and their acts of emboldened defiance, will be met with harsh consequences.”

All three suspects are out on bond and are due back in court for their arraignment in late September.

From NTD News