The Wauconda Police Department was featured this week on a Discovery Channel television show showcasing a 2021 high-speed police pursuit of a convicted murderer.
Wauconda Police Chief David Wermes said the department was approached by Arrow Media, a TV production company, in February.
Arrow Media was making a second season of their show called “High Speed Chase” for Discovery Channel.
The series focuses on police pursuits and aims to give viewers a better understanding of how law enforcement agencies conduct pursuits, the dangers they face and the techniques they use to minimize risk to others.
“Arrow Media inquired about several pursuits that Wauconda Police Officers were involved in, one in particular that occurred July 29, 2021, that piqued their interest,” Wermes said.
The police department participated in the filming of the documentary during the week of April 15.
“The Village of Wauconda and the Police Department believe that protecting our residents from unlawful activity is of the utmost importance. We appreciate and foster the outstanding relationship we have developed with our entire community,” Wermes said.
The episode involving the July 29, 2021, pursuit was broadcast on the Investigation Discovery Channel on Tuesday evening.
The police chief, along with Sergeant Heather Cognac and now-former Sergeant Tim Burke, were featured on the show, which gave a play-by-play of the incident through dashcam and bodycam video footage and interviews with the three police officers.
The pursuit began shortly after officers responded to calls of a traffic complaint around 1:35 p.m. in the 1100 block of Van Buren Street in Wauconda.
Cognac told Lake and McHenry County Scanner at the time that a man was driving up and down the street with the muffler of his vehicle dragging on the ground. The man was also yelling at people.
An officer arrived on the scene and found the 36-year-old suspect was agitated. He refused to stop for the officer and fled the scene in his black 1998 Chevrolet pickup truck.
Cognac said the pursuit went through Wauconda down various streets including Bonner Road, Fairfield Road, Route 176, and Gilmer Road.
The suspect drove his Chevrolet recklessly during the pursuit — at times driving off the roadway for no reason, into opposite lanes of traffic and through a backyard of a home. Speeds exceeded 80 mph.
At one point, the Chevrolet was involved in a crash with another vehicle near Gilmer Road and Fremont Center Road in unincorporated Mundelein.
Cognac said paramedics were called to the scene to evaluate the victims of the crash.
The Chevrolet continued fleeing police after the collision. The suspect drove into the Grand Dominion by Del Webb neighborhood in Mundelein.
The pursuit came to an end in the neighborhood after the suspect tried driving his Chevrolet truck into a marsh area in the 3800 block of Canton Circle.
The suspect was non-compliant with officers and he threatened to burn Lake County sheriff’s Canine Duke with his lit cigarette, Cognac said.
Officers released Duke, who bit the suspect and officers were able to arrest the man.
Paramedics transported the suspect to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville for treatment of the dog bite.
Cognac said that the suspect was wanted on multiple warrants and he was on parole. He also had a prior conviction for second-degree murder.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office initially charged the suspect with two counts of aggravated fleeing to elude and one count of resisting a peace officer but later dismissed all of the charges after he pleaded guilty in a separate court case where he was sentenced to three years in prison.
Those who missed the airing of the episode Tuesday evening can watch it online on Discovery+.