Sheriff’s deputies de-escalated a standoff with a woman who told deputies to “shoot me” after she hit and dragged her girlfriend with a car, causing serious injuries to the victim near Grayslake.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded around 6:40 p.m. Thursday to Route 45 and Gages Lake Road in Gages Lake for multiple 911 calls.
The callers reported a woman had been struck and dragged by a vehicle and the offending driver fled the scene southbound.
Lake County Sheriff Spokesman Lt. Christopher Covelli said that deputies learned a short time later the driver returned and threatened to shoot the victim.
The offender, identified as Katrice Brown, 35, of the 1400 block of West Park Avenue in Libertyville, ordered the victim to get back in the vehicle.
The victim crawled back toward the vehicle and got inside, Covelli said. Brown then fled southbound with the victim inside the car.
Dispatchers issued a regional alert to other law enforcement to be on the lookout for the offending vehicle, Covelli said.
The vehicle was spotted in the area of Route 45 and Brae Loch Road in Grayslake a short time later by Grayslake police.
Sheriff’s deputies and police officers conducted a high-risk traffic stop on the vehicle due to the nature of the offenses, Covelli said.
Sheriff’s deputies began communicating with Brown and instructed her to exit her vehicle with her hands raised. Brown exited her vehicle and was immediately non-compliant.
“She was not following the instructions of sheriff’s deputies and she began yelling, “shoot me” and “kill me” to the sheriff’s deputies,” Covelli said.
The sheriff’s deputies, who are trained in high-risk traffic stops and de-escalation, were able to communicate with Brown for several minutes and worked together to calm her down.
After several minutes of de-escalation techniques, Brown was taken into custody without force being used.
The victim, a 28-year-old Libertyville woman, was still in the vehicle and sheriff’s deputies called for an ambulance.
The victim was transported to an area hospital with significant injuries from being struck by the vehicle and dragged. She is expected to recover.
Covelli said that an investigation revealed the victim and Brown are in a dating relationship.
The two got into an argument at a bar in the area of Route 45 and Gages Lake Road and they left the establishment to their vehicle.
“As they were preparing to leave, the victim decided to exit the vehicle to get away from Brown. As the victim was exiting, Brown accelerated, and the victim was dragged from the passenger side of the vehicle,” Covelli said.
The victim was also struck by the vehicle after Brown dragged her.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office approved charges against Brown of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault with a motor vehicle, two Counts of aggravated domestic battery and driving under the influence of alcohol.
“This incident again shows the true professionalism of all of our staff. From our Training Division who have made it a priority to focus training efforts on de-escalation before resorting to force – to our telecommunicators who were able to obtain critical information from the 911 callers and calmly disseminate that to the sheriff’s deputies – to our sheriff’ deputies who responded and utilized de-escalation techniques rather than force,” Lake County Sheriff John Idleburg said.
“This was an incident that could have ended much differently if it were not for our trained, dedicated, and professional staff who worked together to resolve this incident safely for everyone involved,” Idleburg added.
Brown remains held in the Lake County Jail on a $250,000 bond. She is scheduled to appear in court on June 8.