The streets of Little Village in Chicago were filled with celebration on the night of Mexican Independence Day when two police officers were attacked with wooden flagpoles, resulting in serious injuries.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Arturo Rodriguez, a 46-year-old man from Cicero, was charged Sunday with a felony count of aggravated battery of a peace officer for striking an officer lying on the ground with a wooden flagpole. Another officer was struck separately by an unknown assailant, severely cutting their ear.
The incident unfolded in the midst of the Little Village celebrations, with flag-bearing cars filling the neighborhood streets. The Tribune reports that officers were blocking traffic at the corner of West 26th Street and South Homan Avenue around 1 a.m. when they attempted to pursue and arrest two teens suspected of shooting a gel pellet “Orbeez” toy gun at passing cars.
As officers tried to control the situation, a 15-year-old began firing gel pellets at their faces. As they pursued the teen, an officer was struck on the head by a wooden flagpole, causing a deep cut to their ear, which bled profusely. Rodriguez then allegedly attacked a second officer, down on the ground and defenseless, hitting them in the back of the head and neck with a wooden flagpole, causing bruising and swelling, according to the Chicago Tribune.
As reported by NBC Chicago, Rodriguez was arrested along with a 16-year-old boy who faced two counts of aggravated battery of a police officer and two misdemeanor counts of resisting and obstructing a peace officer. The injured officers were transported to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where one received 30 stitches to repair the damage to their ear, as stated in the Tribune report.
