Berwyn Police Blotter
Aggravated assault, marijuana arrest of man described by police as “erratic”
April 15, 2008, 12:00 AM
An officer at Cermak and Ridgeland saw a man dressed in black jeans, a black hoodie and with a black bandanna on his head, walking westbound on Cermak. The man had his hand inside his pocket, appeared nervous and repeatedly crossed Cermak between Elmwood and Ridgeland where no crosswalk exists. Because of this erratic behavior , the officer decided to ask the man if he needed help. But before the officer could even get out of his squad car to do so, the man removed his sweatshirt, threw it into a City of Berwyn planter, then ran southbound across Cermak toward McDonald’s, in the middle of moving traffic. The man tried the door of the restaurant but found it locked. He tried a second door with the same result. The officer approached the man, who began walking slowly backwards. The officer advised him to stop walking and come over to the squad car. In response, the man reportedly threw his hands in the air and yelled, ‘What do you want? Why are you trying to stop me?” The officer made the request twice. The man did not comply, but ran away. Another officer arrived. By this time, the man was walking southbound in the parking lot of Hollywood Video. The street at that location was under construction, with large pieces of broken pavement lying about. Police saw the man was walking and holding a chunk of pavement about a foot long. The man ran in front of one squad car and raised his arm as if to throw the concrete chunk onto the car. Police yelled to him to drop it. The man then reportedly made as if to throw the concrete chunk at the officers. One officer used a Taser on the man, who fell and dropped the concrete. The man identified himself as Benjamin Lugo, 36, of Cicero. After he was handcuffed and placed in the squad car, Lugo reportedly swore and banged his head against the window. Fearing that Lugo might be under the influence of narcotics, police summoned an ambulance. Because Lugo kicked and spit, he was handcuffed to the stretcher and taken to the emergency room. There, his blood alcohol level was determined to be .160—double the legal limit. He was charged with reckless conduct and two counts of aggravated assault. After being read his Miranda rights, Lugo told police he had drunk about 18 “Ice House” beers and smoked some weed. Because 2.3 grams of marijuana were recovered from his pocket, Lugo was also cited for marijuana possession.
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