Off-duty Chicago cop opens fire on catalytic converter crew — one night after he was threatened by men with a gun at the same spot

Chicago — An off-duty police officer opened fire on an armed catalytic converter theft team in Irving Park overnight. It was the second night in a row that armed men confronted the off-duty cop in the same location, according to Chicago police records.

The first incident occurred around 10:24 p.m. Sunday in the 2800 block of West Grace. A 43-year-old man, identified as an off-duty detective, told on-duty cops that he saw a black sedan and a silver sedan driving the wrong way. 

The black car crashed into a parked vehicle, and its occupants got out and jumped into the silver car, a Chicago police spokesperson explained. The silver car then drove past the off-duty officer, and someone inside the vehicle pointed a gun at him before speeding away, according to CPD.

No shots were fired during Sunday’s confrontation.

Things went a little differently at the same location around 2:50 a.m. Tuesday. That’s when the off-duty cop saw several people trying to steal a catalytic converter from a parked car, according to a Chicago police media statement.

One of the thieves pointed a gun at the officer, who pulled his own firearm and opened fire, police said. No one was injured by the gunfire.

The thieves jumped into a Dodge Charger and a white Hyundai sedan and fled the scene, according to CPD.

According to a Chicago Police Department traffic crash report, the driver of the Hyundai reversed down the street and slammed into a parked SUV before fleeing. The report identifies the off-duty cop as a Chicago police officer who is listed in public records as a detective.

The off-duty officer was taken to a hospital for chest pain following Tuesday’s incident, according to the department.

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CWBChicago was created in 2013 by five residents of Wrigleyville and Boystown who had grown disheartened with inaccurate information that was being provided at local Community Policing (CAPS) meetings. Our coverage area has expanded since then to cover Lincoln Park, River North, The Loop, Uptown, and other North Side Areas. But our mission remains unchanged: To provide original public safety reporting with better context and greater detail than mainstream media outlets. Our editorial email address is news@cwbchicago.com