Cop recalls shooting in vodka theft
Backing up a fellow Lombard police officer, Jerry O'Meara suddenly found himself staring down the barrel of a loaded revolver.
The 13-year police veteran and his two partners instinctively turned to get out of the line of fire and seek shelter. Within seconds, though, O'Meara knew he was hit.
"As I turned, I heard a shot ring out and felt something hit me in the left shoulder," he said. "As soon as I was shot, I continued to run down the hallway because there was no cover.
"I could hear more gunshots. At one point, I heard a bullet whiz by my right ear."
The former Lombard police officer's harrowing testimony came Tuesday during the trial of a man charged with attempted murder in the Sept. 2, 2004, shooting.
Prosecutors allege Paul J. Grygo pilfered a $7.46 bottle of vodka from a grocery store, retreated to his condo and opened fire on the three officers who came knocking.
O'Meara's injuries cost him a promising police career and may land Grygo, 59, whom prosecutors portrayed as an "angry drunk," in prison for the rest of his life.
Grygo has remained in jail on a $3 million bond since his arrest. He faces up to 80 years in prison because the charges involve a police officer.
Police traced Grygo to his condo at 2201 S. Grace St., Unit 609, after a store manager copied the license plate number of a suspect who fled with a plastic bottle of vodka. The manager identified Grygo on Tuesday as the thief who pushed and threatened him before fleeing.
Prosecutors Tim Diamond and Michael Pawl said Grygo initially refused to respond but, as the officers remained positioned in the hallway, the defendant opened the door and fired five rounds at them. They said Grygo reloaded the .38-caliber revolver but did not fire it the second time it was displayed.
"He made it clear to the police officers that he was going to kill them," Pawl said in his opening statement. "Fortunately, he did not fulfill that promise."
O'Meara showed the jury his scars from where the bullet entered, traveled through his arm, and exited near his elbow.
"My arm was heavy and I couldn't move it," he testified, describing the shooting's aftermath. "There was blood everywhere. I tried to stop the bleeding."
O'Meara survived, but he suffered muscle and nerve damage and wasn't able to return to active duty on the force. The Army veteran and father of two children, along with his two colleagues, later received the department's award of valor.
Prosecutors said it was Lombard Lt. Jim Glennon who first saw the weapon and screamed "Gun!" O'Meara said he and Glennon fled down the narrow sixth-floor hallway. The other officer, Joseph Statkus, a rookie, testified Tuesday that he retreated to a neighbor's condo, positioned himself behind a partially opened door and returned fire.
Grygo was not injured. He peacefully surrendered minutes later. His defense team, Paul DeLuca and Paul Moreschi, declined to give an opening statement Tuesday but the lawyers are expected to seek an insanity defense.
The trial before DuPage Circuit Judge Kathryn Creswell continues today with Grygo's written and videotaped police statements.
Prosecutors said Grygo admitted knowing it was the police and that he didn't want to be arrested. He also said, "I'm not crazy. I'm just kind of (ticked) off," according to prosecutors.