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LaSalle police chief praises multiagency response after violent, barricade incident
Summary
LaSalle’s police chief briefed the council on a major multiagency response to a barricaded subject and related incidents, praising officers and allied agencies for the outcome in which no officers were injured.
LaSalle’s police chief described a multiagency response to a violent series of events that included a building wall collapse, a vehicle driven into a building and a barricaded subject who reportedly fired a gun from a window.
"In my almost 30 years as a police officer, it's probably one of the worst calls I've ever had to attend to," the chief said, describing arriving to a scene with a perimeter established by LaSalle and Peru officers. He credited coordinated assistance from numerous agencies, including Peru Police, LaSalle County Sheriff's Department, LaSalle County tactical response team (TRT), Illinois State Police, Illinois Conservation Police, and multiple neighboring police departments. He specifically noted use of a BearCat armored vehicle and a police drone in the response.
The chief said the state police later took over the investigation and that mental-health or support services were made available to responders, including on-site counselors and food provided by the Red Cross. He singled out several county sheriff's deputies and LaSalle officers for assistance and said that, despite the severity of the incident, "all of the good guys went home safe yesterday." The chief also noted that one sheriff's department officer, Jason Martin, is retiring soon and offered public thanks to deputies and partner agencies.
The transcript records the chief’s remarks as informational; no formal council action or policy change was recorded in connection with the briefing at the meeting.
