State Watch

Three people indicted in Illinois for alleged assault of police officer

Three Illinois residents are facing charges after allegedly assaulting a police officer during a traffic stop.

Sheba Taylor, 26, Jennifer Taylor, 24, and Paul Sherrod Taylor, 28, were all indicted by a grand jury Wednesday, according to CNN. They are facing charges including aggravated battery, felony attempted murder and aggravated assault.

During the June 21 incident, Aurora Police officer Joaquin Miranda pulled over a vehicle driven by Paul Sherrod Taylor after he allegedly ran a stop sign.

When Miranda approached the car, Taylor then began shouting profanities refused to comply with his requests, according to reports. A female passenger then repeatedly asked for the presence of a female officer, telling Miranda not to touch her, the news outlet reported.

Aurora Police shared a Facebook post including dashcam footage of that night and a detailed caption outlining what occurred.

“Moments later, the rear passenger exited the vehicle,” police said of a female passenger. “The officer ordered her back into the car several times before informing her that she was under arrest for obstructing. However, before the rear passenger was in custody, the driver also exited the vehicle, continued yelling obscenities, and started approaching the officer at the rear of the car. The driver told the officer that he would fight him if he touched the rear female passenger,” police stated in the caption. 

Police also said two women then began “striking the officer with closed fists and kicking his body and head.”

Additional officers eventually arrived at the scene and arrested the suspects.

“A minor infraction that likely would have resulted in a citation at most, turned into an officer fighting for his life,” Aurora Police Chief Kristen Ziman said during a press conference, according to CNN.

Miranda has been released from the hospital and is back on duty, CNN noted.