Three suspects reportedly swarm, beat, strangle police officer during traffic stop. Now they're facing serious charges.



Authorities arrested three suspects who reportedly beat and strangled an Aurora, Illinois, police officer during a Monday night traffic stop.

What are the details?

An as-yet identified Aurora police officer stopped a vehicle after its operator reportedly ran a stop sign in a residential area late Monday evening.

When the driver — identified as 28-year-old Paul Sherrod — pulled over in a nearby driveway, he reportedly began screaming obscenities at the officer from inside the vehicle.

At that point, a female passenger was said to have exited the vehicle and began confronting the officer. The officer demanded several times that the woman get back out of the car, but she reportedly refused, prompting the officer to begin arrest proceedings against the female passenger.

The obstruction arrest purportedly prompted Sherrod to exit the vehicle and threaten the officer while fleeing on foot.

The officer then began chasing after Sherrod, prompting the two female passengers to follow closely behind. When the women caught up to the officer, they reportedly began attacking him. The distraction permitted Sherrod to join the women in brutalizing the officer, reports say.

The two women then reportedly "began striking the officer with closed fists and kicking his body and head," and later held the officer so as to allow Sherrod to hit him in the head.

A press release from the department added that one of the female passengers also "placed her forearm around the officer's neck and applied significant force to his windpipe, causing him to lose the abliity to breathe."

The suspect was still reportedly strangling the officer when backup arrived and quickly arrested the trio of suspects.

Authorities identified the female suspects as 24-year-old Jennifer Taylor and 26-year-old Sheba Taylor.

Sherrod and both female suspects each face five felony charges including aggravated assault of a peace officer. The three were booked into the Kane County Jail and appeared at a Tuesday bond call. Both women are being held on a $50,000 bond, and Sherrod is being held on a $75,000 bond.

First responders rushed the officer to a nearby hospital for treatment. He is expected to recover from the attack.

What else?

In a statement, Aurora Police Chief Kristen Ziman said, "Our Aurora police officers are entrusted with keeping our community safe from harm. I am at a loss of words when an officer is physically attacked from something that would have been a simple traffic ticket. We will not allow our city to become a place where criminals feel emboldened, and lawlessness ensues."

Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin added, “This type of lawlessness and violence against our police officers cannot and will not be tolerated. This was an act of malice and cowardice and I will absolutely seek that the perpetrators are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Let's keep this officer in our prayers as the officer makes a full and complete recovery."

Tennessee police officer responds to call — and is hit with ambush in apparent setup



A suspect reportedly ambushed a Tennessee police officer who responded to a fake call, according to a Newsweek report Wednesday.

The suspect — identified as 22-year-old Salman Mohamed — reportedly shot Officer Brian Sherman late Tuesday night before turning the gun on himself.

What are the details?

According to reports, Sherman arrived at the scene after the suspect called authorities and told them that his brother shot their mother and that the situation was escalating within the home.

When Sherman and two other officers arrived at the home, Sherman was immediately met with gunfire. Mohamed, who was armed with a rifle, then allegedly shot himself in the head.

No shots were fired by police, according to reports.

Department spokesperson Don Aaron said that Sherman, who was struck by a bullet in the upper left arm, was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he was treated for his injuries and released later that night.

"It's clear that the phone call to the communications center about an active shooter — that his mother had been shot — was a ruse, a setup to get police to the scene," Aaron said during a press conference on the shooting. "No one else in the home was injured."

He added, "We have to talk to family members to determine what has occurred here. We don't see any arrest history for Mohamed here in Nashville."

MNPD: Metro Officer shot in setup at South Nashville home www.youtube.com

Aaron also said that the danger for officers appears to have escalated over the last several weeks.

"Certainly, these calls are sitting with our officers," the spokesman said. "You can't ignore them. It's very concerning what our officers are being confronted with over the past few weeks. It's very concerning."

The department tweeted a photo of Sherman and captioned it, "BREAKING: Officer Brian Sherman is bring treated at Vanderbilt for gunshot wounds to his left arm. Sherman was hit while answering a call of a woman shot at 7220 Sugarloaf Dr. That call was a setup to get police to respond[.]"

Delaware officer who was brutally assaulted dies from injuries; suspect now charged with murder



The Delmar, Delaware, police officer who was viciously beaten by a suspect has died from his injuries, Blaze Media can confirm.

Authorities arrested Randon Wilkerson on Sunday after he reportedly bludgeoned the 54-year-old officer, Cpl. Keith Heacook, and attacked two elderly neighbors.

What's a brief history here?

Heacook responded Sunday to the Yorkshire Estates Community in Delmar for reports of a fight in progress.

Wilkerson was reportedly fighting with other residents in the home. When Heacook arrived at the home — alone, due to major understaffing and underfunding within the department — Wilkerson reportedly assaulted him and left the corporal in a pool of blood.

Sources told Blaze Media that Heacook had no pulse and was not breathing when backup and first responders arrived on the scene.

Authorities discovered the suspect across the street at a neighboring residence, where he'd reportedly assaulted two elderly people who lived in the home. Both elderly victims were transported to hospitals for treatment of their injuries, and Heacook was rushed to the Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, Maryland, for treatment of "significant" head injuries.

Authorities arrested the suspect on the scene and committed him to the Sussex Correctional Institution on $451,000 cash bond. He was initially charged with terroristic threatening, attempted murder, burglary, two counts of first-degree assault, two counts of possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony, and one count of third-degree assault. He now faces murder charges in the death of Cpl. Heacook.

You can read more about the horrific attack here.

What are the details?

Heacook, a 22-year veteran with the Delmar Police Department, died of his injuries on Wednesday.

According to an anonymous law enforcement source, Heacook was within weeks of retirement.

The brave corporal leaves behind a wife, son, and other family.

In a statement, Delaware Department of Justice Attorney General Kathy Jennings said, "These are the worst moments any of us can imagine: mourning the loss of a member of our law enforcement family. Cpl. Heacook served his Department and his community honorably and faithfully for more than two decades — a family man, a public servant, and a protector of his community until his final days."

"[Wilkerson] will be held accountable for his heinous crimes against Cpl. Heacook, against the elderly couple he viciously assaulted, and against Delmar and our state," Jennings added. "The DOJ has been working together with Delmar and Delaware State Police, and all are doing everything in our power to ensure a successful prosecution."

Blaze Media's law enforcement source said that Wilkerson had been arrested more than 30 times since 2010 in Maryland alone. A search in the Maryland Judiciary Case portal returned at least 38 arrests, including those for assault, burglary, theft, trespassing, and more.

The source told Blaze Media that the late corporal was a "very gentle man" who never even raised his voice.

The Bank of Delmarva has a designated account named "The Community" for anyone who wishes to donate to Heacook and his family. For more information on how to donate, contact the bank at 410-548-7892 or 800-787-4542.

What else?

Delmar, which straddles the southernmost Delaware-Maryland state line, is forced to strategically place officers since there is more area to cover and fewer officers than ideal.

Delmar, Delaware, Mayor Karen Wells said Monday that few people are even applying to be officers in the area this days.

"Quite frankly, who would want to be a police officer right now," Wells said. "That's the hardest thing I think we're facing."

Wells added, "We will have to look into what we can do to make sure that this doesn't happen again. I mean that's all there is to it."

Delaware Gov. John Carney (D) lamented the loss of the officer's life in a Wednesday tweet.

He wrote, "This is heartbreaking news. The Delmar community and the entire State of Delaware lost a public servant today. Tracey and I are praying for Cpl. Heacook, his family, and all of his fellow law enforcement officers."

This is heartbreaking news. The Delmar community and the entire State of Delaware lost a public servant today. Trac… https://t.co/p80JrrwGnW
— Governor John Carney (@Governor John Carney)1619653352.0