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Family says no need for cops to shoot Lombard man

The family of a Lombard man gunned down by police Monday after a slow-speed chase through Franklin Park says police acted hastily against a man with no history of violence.

Patty Mojziszek detailed a lengthy history of her ex-husband's battles with mental illness and his numerous traffic-related arrests, but contends he was never dangerous.

"He was a good man," she said through tears Wednesday. "My son and I lost him 10 years ago and he wasn't the same man after that, but he was still a good man."

Police opened fire on 52-year-old Dan Mojziszek late Monday following a three-mile, low-speed chase that began in Franklin Park and ended in Northlake. Authorities said Mojziszek tried to ram officers after his car had been T-boned by a squad car. They say Mojziszek ignored their verbal commands to get out of the car and put his car in gear as officers closed in around him. Mojziszek was shot twice. However, a witness claims police opened fire on Mojziszek's vehicle within seconds of exiting their squad cars. The state police are investigating.

Patty Mojziszek's attorney, Frank Avila, says the family plans to file a $10 million wrongful death suit. He also was critical of Elmhurst Memorial Hospital, which he says treated and released Dan Mojziszek twice in less than 24 hours for his diabetes just a day before the shooting. Avila said diabetic episodes can trigger mental illness. Mojziszek was also diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had undergone several stints at the Elgin Mental Health Center.

Avila contends police could have used other methods to subdue Dan Mojziszek and used "deadly force as a first resort rather than a last one." He said the officers should have shot out the tires of Dan Mojziszek's car or boxed him in with any of the nearly two dozen police vehicles that responded to the end of the chase. He believes police also knew that Dan Mojziszek suffered from mental illness, but was never violent, didn't carry a weapon and had never tried to hurt officers.

"When I heard he'd died of a gunshot wound I just couldn't believe it, I thought he had gotten mugged or something," Patty Mojziszek said. "When I was told it was the police, I just couldn't understand."

Patty Mojziszek divorced her husband in 2000 because of his mental illness and trouble with the law. She said the bipolar disorder wasn't diagnosed until after their marriage.

"His issues with the mental illness were consuming all of the money, and his court issues were growing," she said. "I thought I would end up with nothing."

The couple met in 1986, Patty Mojziszek said. Dan Mojziszek was a successful band teacher and musician who took care of his mother, she said. The couple has one son, Bryan, a 15-year-old high school sophomore.

"He always used to make me laugh and he was fun to hang out with," Bryan said. "I'm still trying to take it all in."

Patty Mojziszek said she used to let her ex-husband stay at her house off and on even after they divorced.

"I felt like I had to watch out for him because he couldn't do it for himself," she said. "But I just couldn't do it anymore."

Dan Mojziszek's mental illness would manifest itself in delusions and paranoia, his ex-wife said. He would make outrageous claims about the FBI and aliens.

"I would sometimes just find him sitting there alone talking about these things to himself," she said.

Patty Mojziszek said her husband "didn't take care of himself" when it came to taking medications for his mental illness and diabetes. Police interaction became routine and she found she could only relax when her ex-husband was serving time in prison.

"I'd go into panic attacks every time I'd see a police car coming," she said. "When he was in prison I felt safe like I didn't have to worry."

Patty Mojziszek and her son Bryan, 15, are planning to file a $10 million wrongful death lawsuit against the officers who shot and killed her ex-husband and the boy's father, Dan Mojziszek, Monday after a slow-speed chase. Bev Horne | Staff Photographer

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<li><a href="/story/?id=350433">Lombard man killed while fleeing police had troubled past <span class="date">[01/13/10]</span></a></li>

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