$35,000 bail set for Palatine man accused of going after cop’s stun gun

Bail was set at $35,000 Wednesday for a Palatine man accused of trying to grab an Arlington Heights police officer’s stun gun after a rush-hour foot chase on Dundee Road.

The officer was “scratched and clawed” on the arms in the struggle which began about 5 p.m. Tuesday after the officer pulled Samuel Lopez Jr. over for a traffic violation on the Dundee Road overpass over Route 53, authorities said.

Lopez, of the 1800 block of North Green Lane, acted in a “furtive manner” when the officer approached, said Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Bill Cotter.

The officer saw Lopez toss away a plastic bag, then flee on foot, Cotter said. The bag later was found to contain 28 grams of a substance that tested positive for cocaine, Cotter said.

The officer chased Lopez, who eventually tripped, said Arlington Heights Cmdr. Michael Miljan. During a struggle, Lopez “was fighting to turn the Taser on the officer,” Miljan said.

Lopez is charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance, aggravated battery against a police officer and attempting to disarm a police officer, prosecutors said during the hearing at the Rolling Meadows courthouse.

Lopez next appears in court on May 10.

A lifelong resident of the area, Lopez has convictions for misdemeanor criminal damage to property in 1997 and misdemeanor resisting a police officer and driving under the influence in 2002, prosecutors said.