Crime & Safety

Cop Tases Driver Who Tussled With Troopers After DUI Arrest

Even after being tased by a Tinley Park Police officer, Matthew Dyer, 20, of Frankfort, began spitting at Illinois State Police troopers, according to police reports.

A Tinley Park Police officer tased a Frankfort man who had been arrested by Illinois State Police on Sept. 26 after the man tried to get out of his cuffs and kick the arresting officers, according to a police report.

Matthew W. Dyer, 20, of the 600 block of Hawthorne Drive in Frankfort, was charged with driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license, resisting a peace officer and possession of less than 2.5 grams of marijuana, according to Will County Sheriff's Office records.

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The possession charge was later dropped, but traffic charges of failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and improper lane use were added, according to Will County Circuit Court records. Dyer was released on $5,000 bond, and his next court date is Oct. 16.

A Tinley Park Police officer responded around 8:06 p.m. to a single-car accident with injuries on the southbound Harlem Avenue exit ramp of eastbound I-80, the police report stated. The Tinley Park Fire Department, State Police and Trace Ambulance paramedics also responded to the accident. The report did not indicate how the accident happened.

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The car, which was driven by Dyer, had run off the road and hit a light pole on the exit ramp, the report stated. The State Police handled the vehicle accident report as well as a DUI investigation of the driver, the report continued, adding that state troopers arrested Dyer after that. Dyer refused medical treatment after being arrested.

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The arresting state trooper then decided to drive Dyer to the Tinley Park Police Department. But the trooper had to pull into a Speedway gas station, 18460 80th Ave., along the way because Dyer had with another State Trooper because Dyer "had manipulated his handcuffs from the rear of his body to the front," which created escape and safety risks, the report stated.

Dyer then started hitting the patrol car's plexiglass divider and threatening the trooper, the report continued. A trooper who followed the arresting officer into the Speedway parking helped the arresting trooper take Dyer out of the patrol car, and both officers tried to re-secure his cuffs behind his back, the report stated. Dyer then put his hands under his body and began kicking the troopers.

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That's when the Tinley Park officer who had responded to the accident call entered the fray, tasing Dyer in the lower back, the report stated. Dyer stopped resisting, but as the officers put him back in the patrol car, Dyer spit at them, the report continued. A spit hood was put over Dyer’s head, and paramedics were called to the Speedway to remove the taser prongs from his back.

Dyer again refused medical treatment and was booked in to Will County Jail.

Police report information is provided by the Tinley Park Police Department and other law enforcement agencies. Charges are not evidence of guilt. They are a record of police actions on a given day, and persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. If you or a family member are charged or cited and the case is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to notify the editor. We will verify and report the outcome.

 

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