Detainee Goes Ape On Deputies At Cook County Courthouse, Fighting 4 Of Them At Once

Four Cook County Sheriff’s deputies were injured Wednesday morning when a detainee attacked one of the deputies before a hearing at the Skokie courthouse.

Jerome Townsel, 30, was making a call before his bond hearing on trespassing charges around 10 a.m. “when he became irate and attacked a Sheriff’s Deputy who was standing nearby,” a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said in an email.

Surveillance video, which does not include any sound, shows Townsel talking on a phone in an office at the courthouse when he starts gesturing at a pair of sheriff’s deputies standing several feet away. Townsel then moves towards the deputies and raises both his fists.

When Townsel moved closer to the deputies, one of them started pushing him away, and Townsel began punching the deputy in the head. Three other deputies in the room then quickly moved in, trying to subdue Townsel, who struck several blows to three other deputies before they managed to cuff him.

Townsel knocked down a plastic partition in the office as deputies struggled to subdue him.

The sheriff’s office said all four deputies were taken to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries. Skokie Fire Department paramedics also checked out Townsel, who refused medical treatment, according to the sheriff’s office.

He later appeared in bond court where a judge set his bail at $150,000.

The sheriff’s office said the incident is under investigation, and Townsel likely will face additional charges for the attack.