24-year-old man charged with murdering Chicago cop

A 24-year-old convicted felon was charged Friday with murdering a police officer by fatally shooting him with the officer's own gun outside of a police station.

Bryant Brewer is charged with 1st degree murder, three counts of attempted murder and one count of armed robbery, one count of armed robbery. Authorities say he has admitted he shot the officer.

At a news conference Friday, a visibly angry Superintendent Jody Weis said he was outraged by the Wednesday slaying of Officer Thor Soderberg, and he called Brewer a "miscreant."

"I simply cannot understand how a person can have such a total disregard of life and for those who keep order on the streets that he can attack, disarm and then shoot and kill a uniformed officer in broad daylight," he said. "This savage act defies all human value."

Brewer was assigned a deputy public defender, who did not immediately return a call for comment. There was no telephone listing under Brewer's name, and the hospital where he was being treated Friday, Christ Hospital medical Center in Oak Lawn, would not confirm that he was a patient.

Soderberg, 43, had just gotten off work Wednesday afternoon and was leaving the station to play volleyball when he was attacked by Brewer, Weis said. An 11-year department veteran who was an instructor at the department's training academy, Soderberg was on temporary assignment to a task force aimed at combating youth violence.

Weis said Brewer, for no apparent reason, grabbed for Soderberg's gun and was able to take it and shoot the officer.

According to the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, Brewer shot Soderberg three times, including once in the face.

State's attorney's office spokesman Andy Conklin said Brewer left the station's parking after killing Soderberg and fired several shots at a man sitting on his porch across the street. The shots missed, and after the man ran away, Brewer grabbed a bag of tools from his home and ran into the middle of the street, where he fired several shots at the police station.

Conklin said three officers ran into the street, and that Brewer fired on them. The officers returned fire and shot Brewer once, he said. He remained hospitalized Friday, and police said his injuries were not considered life threatening.

Conklin said Brewer admitted struggling with Soderberg and shooting him with his gun, and that witnesses identified Brewer as the gunman.

A judge on Friday ordered Brewer held without bail when he is released from the hospital, Conklin said. He said Brewer previously was convicted of felony possession of a controlled substance and two misdemeanors.

Conklin also said that prosecutors might seek the death penalty, but haven't decided.