3 charged with trying to murder Aurora police officer in June attack
Three people accused of attacking an Aurora police officer in June are now also charged with trying to murder him by strangling him.
A Kane County grand jury on Friday indicted Sheba Taylor, 26, of Aurora; Jennifer Taylor, 24, of Chicago; and Paul Sherrod-Taylor, 28, of DeKalb, on charges of attempted first-degree murder. All three are free on bond.
Authorities say the trio attacked an officer shortly after 10:30 p.m. June 21 after the officer had pulled their car over because it had not stopped at a stop sign.
Besides the new charges, they are all also charged with aggravated battery, aggravated assault and resisting a peace officer - causing injury.
Kane County State's Attorney Jamie Mosser announced the new charges at a news conference Wednesday at the Aurora Police Department.
According to Mosser, it was Sheba Taylor who put her arm on the officer's neck, choking him, while he was being held on the ground.
"Strangulation is one of the more hands-on forms of violence," Mosser said, calling it "highly dangerous" because it puts people "on the precipice of death."
Sherrod-Taylor faces another new charge, threatening a public official, Mosser said.
If convicted of the attempted murder charges, the defendants could be sentenced to six to 30 years in prison.
During the news conference, police played dashboard camera footage and audio of a 911 call made by Sherrod-Taylor.
Video, 911 call
The dashcam video shows a sedan rolled through a stop sign, and an officer turned and followed it. The car then parked in a driveway. As the officer approached the driver's side of the vehicle, a man can be heard saying, "Why you follow me, bro? I did nothing wrong."
The officer asked for the driver's license and proof of insurance. He then told a passenger on the other side of the car to get back into the vehicle. When she refused, he told her she will be arrested on charges of obstruction of justice. As the officer approached her, the driver of the car - Sherrod-Taylor - exited the vehicle and told the officer to leave the woman alone. The officer told Sherrod-Taylor to get back in the car. When he did not, the officer tried to arrest him.
Sherrod-Taylor ran off, and the officer chased him. Most of the chase was not captured on the squad car's camera.
Video from another squad car shows police officers pulling two people off the officer, who was on the ground. According to authorities, one of the women was sitting on the officer's head, and the officer was being punched and kicked in the head.
Meanwhile, other officers arrested Sherrod-Taylor, who had called 911.
"Your (expletive) officers are terrorizing me and my family ... you all need to have some control. Bro, things got out of hand," Sherrod-Taylor said during the 911 call. He also can be heard making threats against the officer.
The officer was treated at a hospital that night and released.
Aurora police have not released the name of the officer. He's been an Aurora officer for about a year.