Sleepy Hollow police: Wood Dale man lunged at officers with knife

A Wood Dale man is facing charges after authorities say he lunged at Sleepy Hollow police officers with a knife during a confrontation Friday.

James A. Dal Cerro, 42, was charged with two counts each of aggravated assault of a peace officer, aggravated assault with the use of a deadly weapon and resisting or obstructing a peace officer, Sleepy Hollow Police Chief James Linane said.

Police responded about 6:30 p.m. to Pimlico Parkway for a report of a man in a backyard acting disoriented, according to a memo Linane sent to Sleepy Hollow officials. When they arrived, the two officers found Dal Cerro waving around a knife, Linane wrote.

Dal Cerro refused to drop the weapon, Linane said, and at one point, he lunged at each officer with the knife. He then crawled into a driveway culvert in the 500 block of Belmont Parkway and refused to come out.

After about an hour, Dal Cerro surrendered and was taken to Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin, Linane said. He was released Saturday into the custody of the Kane County jail. Dal Cerro, who was on probation in connection with past crimes, told officers he had previously consumed alcohol and cocaine at a party, Linane said.

"This was a potentially very dangerous situation ... considering the drugs, alcohol and violent past with this subject," Linane said. "Both officers showed great restraint in the face of this danger and fortunately no deadly force was necessary and no one was hurt."