Grayer and six of his fellow officers, including four who helped make the Robert “Bobby” Crimo III arrest, were honored at Monday night’s North Chicago City Council meeting.
In a video feed from the Lake County, Ill., jail Robert E. Crimo III appears before Lake County Judge Theodore Potkonjak in his initial court appearance Wednesday, July 6, 2022, in Waukegan, Illinois. HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. — Two weeks after he spotted and participated in the arrest of the alleged Highland Park parade shooter on July 4, North Chicago police officer Gary Grayer is still playing the sequence back in his mind.
“Without situational awareness and the coordination of Officer Grayer, as well as the teamwork of Officers Collum, Decowski, Mueller and Mueller, this incident may have escalated into another tragedy,” Perez said before the city council chamber broke out in applause, with many giving a standing ovation.
“I thank that person, whoever he may be, I wish I could shake his hand,” the officer said. “Saw it and called it in, like Chief was saying. I just hit it. I got toward 41, went south and was like, ‘All right, where we at? Where we at?’ I’m searching, I’m scanning, it was like a canine looking for dope. I was scanning, scanning, scanning.”
Grayer said he commanded Crimo to keep his hands up as he exited the vehicle, and then to raise his shirt up to show he had no weapons. He said he thought the suspect was confused by one of the commands, but did not appear to be carrying a weapon, though police soon found a high-powered assault rifle and ammunition in the vehicle.
Perez said Grayer has connected well with the North Chicago and greater Lake County areas while on the force, and that his recognition was well-earned. Paul Crimo, uncle of alleged shooter Bobby Crimo, outside his Highwood home on July 7, 2022, three days after a mass shooting at the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park. On Monday night, Grayer’s eyes welled with tears as he reckoned with the tragedy, imagining if his own family had been in attendance at the parade.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Bay Area warrant sweep of “extremely violent” suspects results in nearly two dozen arrestsThe warrant sweep happened earlier this month.
Read more »
North Chicago police officers honored for role in capturing accused Highland Park parade shooterNorth Chicago, Illinois police department officers are being honored for capturing Highland Park parade shooting suspect Robert 'Bobby' Crimo III.
Read more »
Man shot dead near in San Jose near fairgrounds; suspect arrestedPolice in San Jose arrested a suspect in a fatal shooting Friday morning near the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, the department announced Monday.
Read more »