Suspect Steals Sheriff’s Squad Car and Strikes Deputy After ATM Heists on Chicago’s Southwest Side

Chicago, Illinois – Four hooded men armed with a gun stole an ATM from a Clark gas station at 71st and Damon around 4 a.m. Saturday by chaining it to a gray Jeep SUV and smashing through the glass doors, according to video obtained from the scene.

One man held an employee at gunpoint while the others secured the ATM to the vehicle outside before driving off. Hours later, around 7 a.m., what appeared to be the same group attempted a similar theft at an Amoco gas station at California and 55th.

Amir Mohammed, who was working at the Amoco station, said the men checked the ATM and tried to take it, but it was bolted to the ground. They did not hold him at gunpoint and fled in the Jeep after hearing police approaching.

Authorities stopped the suspects about a 15-minute drive north. The group crashed the Jeep into another car near the intersection of 31st and California. A Cook County Sheriff’s deputy near the jail responded to the crash and saw the suspects fleeing on foot.

One of the suspects then jumped into the deputy’s unoccupied squad car and drove off. Radio transmissions captured the moment officers realized what had happened: “They just stole a Sheriff’s squad car.”

Three of the men were arrested at the scene, but the fourth used the stolen squad car to strike the deputy before speeding away. The deputy was hit by his own vehicle as he tried to intervene.

The fourth suspect was later arrested on the Dan Ryan Expressway after authorities deployed spike strips, which deflated a tire on the stolen squad car.

The Cook County Sheriff’s Office said the deputy was treated and released for non-life-threatening injuries. Police continue to investigate the incidents.