Suspect Fires At Police During Pursuit
An East Chicago Police Officer was on patrol in a fully marked squad car in the area of Railroad and Chicago Avenue when he observed a tan sport utility vehicle stopped at the intersection of Railroad and Chicago Avenue. The Officer noticed that the right brake light of the tan sport utility vehicle were non-functional, so he attempted a traffic stop on the vehicle, according to Deputy Chief Jose Rivera of The East Chicago Police.
The vehicle refused to pull over and fled the Officer who advised dispatch of the situation and pursued the vehicle. During the pursuit the driver of the fleeing vehicle pointed a firearm out the driver side window and fired two shots at the Officer, Rivera said. The Officer swerved out the way to avoid being shot and the driver continued to flee from officers. The Officer continued to pursue the fleeing vehicle East bound on Chicago Avenue. As they began to approach Huish Drive the Officer observed the railroad gates completely down indicating a train was approaching, Rivera told RNS. The fleeing vehicle crashed through the railroad gates and continued East bound but the Officer had to stop pursuing the vehicle to avoid being struck by a train. Other responding officers located the fleeing vehicle wrecked at the intersection of Chicago and Cline Avenue, according to Rivera. Officers secured the perimeter of the crash site and then called a K9 unit from EC and K9 Jax from the Lake County Sheriff Department to assist in tracking the driver. A short time later the driver of the fleeing vehicle was apprehended.
The driver was identified as 38 year old Laron D. Mallette of East Chicago. East Chicago CSI unit was called out and evidence related to the shooting as well as narcotics were recovered from the scene. The East Chicago Criminal Investigation Division will be handling the case, Rivera said. Suspect Laron D. Mallette is currently being held at the East Chicago Police Department Jail pending formal charges.
