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Dashcam video captures the moment suspects swarm, beat, strangle police officer during traffic stop
Image source: Facebook video screenshot

Dashcam video captures the moment suspects swarm, beat, strangle police officer during traffic stop

Harrowing dashcam footage showed the moment a group of suspects attacked a police officer following a traffic stop, according to a Thursday report from Fox News.

What's a brief history?

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

The incident unfolded when an unnamed officer stopped a vehicle after its operator reportedly blew through a stop sign in a residential area.

Authorities identified the driver as 28-year-old Paul Sherrod and Sherrod's passengers as 24-year-old Jennifer Taylor and 26-year-old Sheba Taylor.

Sherrod reportedly began screaming obscenities at the officer during the traffic stop, prompting the officer to demand that Sherrod exit the vehicle. Instead, one of the female passengers reportedly climbed from the vehicle and began confronting the officer.

Sherrod eventually complied with the officer's orders, but reportedly fled on foot as soon as he got out of the vehicle. The officer began pursuing Sherrod on foot, prompting the two female passengers to follow close behind.

One of the women reportedly began brutalizing the officer when she caught up with him, and when it was clear that she had the advantage over the officer, Sherrod and the second female suspect began kicking and hitting the officer with closed fists on his body and head.

One of the female suspects also reportedly placed the officer in a chokehold, cutting off his breath, while the second female allegedly pinned him to the ground.

What's in the video?

Dashcam footage shows the moment backup arrives on the scene and intervenes in the melee.

According to the outlet, the footage did not show the portion of the attack where the officer was allegedly beaten, but did show the portion in which he was dangerously pinned to the ground. The video also purportedly shows at least one of the suspects appearing to sit on the officer's head while police added that a second suspect reportedly applied significant force to the officer's windpipe.

Responding officers were deftly able to free their fellow officer from the suspects' grip and were able to quickly arrest the trio.

Authorities told local media that the female passenger's attack on the officer temporarily left him without the "ability to breathe."

The suspects were booked into the Kane County Jail and face a plethora of charges related to the attack and the preceding incident.

"Following an investigation into the incident, the three suspects ... were indicted by a grand jury last week and charged with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery, and aggravated assault," Fox News reported.

Kane County State's Attorney Jamie Mosser added, "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 property charge was attempted first-degree murder."

The officer, who remains unnamed at the time of this reporting, is expected to recover from the attack.

All suspects are out on bond and are scheduled to be arraigned on Sept. 24.

The Aurora Police Department shared the dashcam footage in a Facebook video, which the department captioned, "Three people are now facing attempted murder charges after a Grand Jury indicted them on numerous felonies after they attacked, beat, and strangled and Aurora Police officer during the course of a traffic stop on the evening of June 21st."

Just after 10:30 p.m. on Monday, an Aurora Police officer performed a traffic stop on a car that rolled through a stop sign. As the officer approached the vehicle, the driver began yelling obscenities out the window. The officer also observed two other passengers in the vehicle. Moments later, the rear passenger exited the vehicle. The officer ordered her back into the car several times before informing her that she was under arrest for obstructing. However, before the rear passenger was in custody, the driver also exited the vehicle, continued yelling obscenities, and started approaching the officer at the rear of the car. The driver told the officer that he would fight him if he touched the rear female passenger. 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. 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 two female passengers then began striking the officer with closed fists and kicking his body and head. The officer heard a male's voice and then was struck repeatedly in the head from several angles. The rear female passenger placed her forearm around the officer's neck and applied significant force to his windpipe, causing him to lose the ability to breathe. A short time later, additional officers arrived and placed the subjects into custody. Detectives from Aurora Police's Investigations Division responded to the scene, interviewed the subjects, and gathered numerous pieces of evidence. Detectives presented the case to the Kane County State's Attorney's Office and they initially authorized numerous felony charges against the three suspects. The investigation continued and on Friday, July 16th, the Kane County State's Attorney presented the facts and evidence of the case to a Grand Jury, and they indicted the three suspects on upgraded charges of attempted murder. Sheba Taylor, 26, was indicted on the following felony charges: One count of Attempted First Degree Murder (Class X) Two counts of Aggravated Battery (Class 2 Felony) Four counts of Aggravated Battery (Class 3 Felony) One count of Aggravated Assault (Class 4 Felony) One count Resisting a Peace Officer (Class 4 Felony) Jennifer Taylor, 24, was indicted on the following felony charges: One count of Attempted First Degree Murder (Class X) Two counts of Aggravated Battery (Class 2 Felony) Four counts of Aggravated Battery (Class 3 Felony) One count of Aggravated Assault (Class 4 Felony) One count Resisting a Peace Officer (Class 4 Felony) Paul Sherrod Taylor, 28, was indicted on the following felony charges: One count of Attempted First Degree Murder (Class X) Two counts of Aggravated Battery (Class 2 Felony) Four counts of Aggravated Battery (Class 3 Felony) One count of Threatening a Public Official (Class 3 Felony) One count of Aggravated Assault (Class 4 Felony) One count Resisting a Peace Officer (Class 4 Felony) The charges against the defendants are not proof of guilt. They are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial in which it is the State's burden to prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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