Man Accused Of Hitting Orland Park Squad Cars At Mall Arrested

ORLAND PARK, IL — One of two men who were accused of deliberately running into Orland Park police squad cars last month has been arrested, police said Monday.

Two Orland Park police squad cars were deliberately hit on the evening of Jan. 18 in the parking lot of Orland Square mall while police tried to intercept a minivan that had a stolen license plate, authorities said.

According to police, two officers noticed a white minivan without a front license plate from the upper level of the mall's parking lot at around 4 p.m. When officials ran the rear plate, it was listed as being stolen from another vehicle.

Police tried to stop the car as it was leaving the parking lot by boxing it in with one squad car in back and one in front. According to a spokesman for the department, both squad cars had their emergency lights on.

The driver of the minivan put the car in reverse, hitting the squad car behind them before officers got out and ordered both the driver and passenger out of the car. The driver then put the vehicle in drive and ran into the other squad car, pushing it out of the way.

According to police, officials were able to identify the minivan's driver within 48 hours of catching the duo on camera leaving the parking lot. Despite obtaining an arrest warrant for 36-year-old Percy Bell, Chicago police were not able to arrest the man until Sunday morning.

"The Orland Park Police Department’s foremost priority is the safety and welfare of the public," said Orland Park Police Chief Joe Mitchell in a press release. "Therefore, at times and despite our overwhelming desire to make an immediate arrest, the delayed apprehension of an offender is the best course of action."

Officers were able to pop one of the car's tires with Stop Sticks before it drove away, then followed it northbound until Hometown before losing sight of it.

One squad car had a cracked bumper and the other had a cracked front grille and dented hood as a result of the incident, a spokesman said. Roadside cameras captured pictures of the two men inside the car.

After Chicago police arrested Bell at his resident, Orland Park officials said he was taken to a South Side courthouse, where he was charged with aggravated fleeing and eluding a police officer, a Class 4 felony.

Bell is currently being held on a $25,000 bond and would need to pay 10 percent of before he can be released ahead of his next court appearance on Tuesday.