Chicago man charged with running down Oak Brook police officer

A Chicago man accused of running down an Oak Brook police detective with his car in a shopping center parking lot is being held on $100,000 bail in DuPage County.

Devin Dawson, 19, of the 8000 block of S. Justine St., is charged with one count of aggravated battery to a police officer and one count of aggravated assault to a police officer.

Prosecutors said a detective on duty at 1:12 p.m. May 4 in the Home Depot store on 22nd Street in Oakbrook Terrace saw Dawson being chased from the business by store security.

The detective, who was dressed in plainclothes, joined the chase and identified himself as a police officer.

During the chase, the detective rounded a van in the parking lot and encountered Dawson behind the wheel of his vehicle. Prosecutors said Dawson accelerated his vehicle toward the detective, striking him and causing the detective to roll up on the hood of the vehicle.

With the detective hanging on to the hood, Dawson continued to accelerate and made a sharp turn, throwing the detective to the ground, whereupon Dawson then fled, prosecutors said. The detective sustained minor injuries.

A $100,000 arrest warrant was issued for Dawson on Saturday and he was arrested Sunday.

"Dawson aimed his car at a man he knew to be a police officer and hit the gas, striking him head on like a bug on his windshield," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a written statement after the bond hearing. "These allegations are extremely serious and will be met with the full force of the law. Thankfully, the detective is expected to fully recover from the injuries he sustained."

Dawson also is facing forgery charges in an unrelated case from 2015. His next court appearance is scheduled for June 6.