May 12--Two men have been charged with struggling with an off-duty Chicago police officer who fired his weapon when he confronted the two after a woman was robbed in Wrigley Field on Tuesday night,police said.
Hector Mendoza, 24, and Sergio Hernandez, 26, of the 3100 block of North Hamlin Avenue in the city's Logan Square neighborhood, have been charged in the incident and are set to appear at the Leighton Criminal Court Building for a hearing Thursday afternoon.
Mendoza was charged with attempting to disarm a police officer, theft, aggravated battery of a peace office and use of an account number, police said. Hernandez was charged only with aggravated battery to a peace officer, police said.
No one was injured and the two suspects were taken into custody after the incident which happened about 10:40 p.m. in the 1000 block of West Grace Street, according to Anthony Guglielmi, chief spokesman for the Chicago Police Department.
The Ogden District off-duty officer heard citizens on the street pointing in Mendoza's direction and telling him to stop, police said.
"The officer approached the men, identified himself as an off-duty police officer, and a confrontation ensued between the officer and the offenders," Guglielmi said.
When the officer, who believed a robbery just occurred, was trying to detain Mendoza, he was ambushed by Hernandez and both suspects began to batter the officer about the body, police said.
Investigators learned that the victim, a woman, was robbed of her jacket inside Wrigley Field and when she tried to get it back from Mendoza, he fled north on Kenmore Avenue, police said.
Mendoza also purchased items from inside Wrigley Field using the victim's credit card.
During the struggle, the officer discharged his service weapon but no one was hit, Guglielmi said.
"We're not sure if it's intentional or not ... IPRA will comb through the specifics,'' Guglielmi said, referring to the Independent Police Review Authority, which investigates any time police fire a weapon.
A witness said a large group was walking north on Kenmore from the Cubs game when the shooting occurred.
Joey Jagminas, 20, said he was driving down the block with his girlfriend when he saw a man -- who turned out to be the officer -- run through the street and grab someone.
"He grabbed the one nearest to the street, the one I had the clearest view of,'' said Jagminas, who was about 8 feet away. "He grabbed him, his upper body and shoulder.
"My girlfriend and I assumed this was a drunken post-Cubs game street fight, as did the people who stopped on the street," he said.
The man who was grabbed was "definitely surprised'' and "jolted" around, Jagminas said. The two began wrestling on the grass between the sidewalk and the street, he said. The other man appeared to be trying to pull the officer off, he said. "It looked pretty bad for a street fight. It was a full-on fight."
A few bystanders began to intervene, holding up their hands as they tried to defuse the fight, he said. Jagminas said he stopped his car and was getting out to join the group when he heard "a loud crack, unmistakably a gunshot."
"Everyone froze," he said. "You kind of heard your ears ringing. It was foggy so it kind of kept the sound isolated almost."
He looked up and saw the officer standing with both hands on a gun, pointing it at the two men. "It looked like the traditional police stance,'' Jagminas said. One of the suspects was standing as the other was getting up from a crouch. The officer pulled a badge from under his shirt as he kept yelling "police'' and "get on the ground," Jagminas said.
The officer pulled out his handcuffs as about eight police cars raced into the intersection from both directions. Jagminas said he heard the officer tell the suspects, "You robbed that lady down the street."
