'We may both be leaving in body bags': Disturbing details about Delnor standoff emerge
“Sorry you're in this (expletive), but depending on what the cops say, we may both be leaving (in) body bags.”
That's Tywon Salters talking to the nurse he'd taken hostage, tortured and sexually assaulted last year during a standoff at Delnor Hospital in Geneva, one of several new disturbing details about the deadly showdown to emerge from an Illinois State Police report we obtained this week.
Salters, a Kane County jail inmate at the time, was in the hospital May 13, 2017, recovering from surgery required after he ate a portion of his jail-issued sandal. He was in a patient room when a jail guard unshackled him so he could use the toilet. Salters, 21, overpowered the guard and stole his .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol.
Naked except for a bandage across his abdomen, Salters forced a nurse to take off her clothes, and he put on her pink pants, shoes and a white medical coat and took her car keys. He then took another nurse hostage and headed to the first floor to leave.
Reports say those plans were foiled when a police car pulled up as Salters made his escape. He holed up in a decontamination room, starting a 3½-hour standoff that would end when a SWAT officer shot and killed Salters.
During the standoff, Salters not only negotiated with police over a phone, but he also called and FaceTimed several others, including a sister, a brother and an aunt.
At one point, Salters held a gun to a nurse's head while he FaceTimed a family member who pleaded with him to release her.
“You gave up on me, walked away from me, now I'm going to kill myself,” he told one relative, according to the report.
<h3 class="leadin">Tip of the iceberg
The report we obtained is just a 16-page “investigation summary” of a 1,024-page report state police investigators turned over this spring to the Kane County state's attorney's office. Kane County State's Attorney Joe McMahon in August determined Salters' killing was justified and the officer who shot him would not face charges.
You can read the summary at dailyherald.com. The full report has not been made public.
<h3 class="leadin">One more thing
Salters was not the only person shot at Delnor that day. According to the report, one of the many police officers on the scene was hit by a bullet fired by a SWAT officer. Fortunately, the bullet lodged in the back plate of his armored vest.
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Worth a listen
If you're a fan of true-crime podcasts or deep dives into unsolved mysteries, check out the new season of “Framed” from Wondery.
The podcast takes an in-depth look at the disappearance and presumed murder of McHenry County teen Brian Carrick. The 17-year-old vanished Dec. 20, 2002, from the Johnsburg grocery store where he worked. Left behind were Brian's blood in the produce cooler, theories involving drug dealing, debts and hired muscle, and a community that remains divided to this day.
Relying on trial and grand jury transcripts, along with police reports and newspaper articles (including from the Daily Herald), the podcast's producers try to piece together what happened to Brian on his last night alive.
They focus on a pair of Brian's co-workers: Mario Casciaro, who was tried and convicted of killing Brian in 2013, only to go free two years later when an appellate court overturned the verdict, and Rob Render, a fellow stock boy who died from a drug overdose in 2012.
Producers said their goal from the start was to determine who killed Brian. Do they? We won't spoil it, but it's safe to say their conclusions may surprise (or upset) some in McHenry County's law enforcement community.
<h3 class="leadin">Drink coffee, chat with cops
With their uniforms, guns and badges, police officers might not seem like the most approachable people while they're out doing their thing.
Some suburban law enforcement leaders hope to change that when they take part in National Coffee with a Cop Day on Wednesday.
Launched by a single California department in 2011 to build better relationships between law enforcement and the public, the event has grown to include hundreds of departments across the country, and even a few in Europe and Asia.
Suburban departments taking part include Naperville, Gurnee, West Chicago, Cary, Lisle, Barrington, Buffalo Grove, Grayslake and Lake Zurich.
“We hope that community members will feel comfortable to ask questions, bring concerns, or simply get to know our officers,” Lake Zurich Chief Steve Husak said.
For a full list of times and locations, visit coffeewithacop.com or check with your local department.
Got a tip or thoughts on a cops and crime-related issue to share? Send an email to copsandcrime@dailyherald.com.