St. Louis man charged with ignoring roadblock during probe of Brooklyn officer’s death
A St. Louis man has been charged with speeding through a roadblock on the McKinley Bridge as law enforcement investigated the death of a Brooklyn police officer.
Madison County’ Sate Attorney Tom Haine announced Monday that Darrell Lane, 34, of St. Louis, has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault and one count of aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer.
On Wednesday, Aug. 4 around 3 a.m. Brooklyn police officer Brian Pierce Jr. was struck and killed on the McKinley Bridge by a red Dodge Charger as he attempted to position stop sticks to flatten the car’s tires during a police chase.
Less than an hour later, at 3:49 a.m., while the bridge was closed to traffic as investigators worked the scene, a gray Kia Optima prosecutors say was driven by Lane bypassed roadblocks “at a high rate of speed.” It hit multiple police vehicles “and nearly struck multiple officers,” according to an Illinois State Police release.
The Madison County Sheriff’s Department says an exchange of gunfire with officers followed and that the driver of the Kia was hit and crashed into two state police cruisers.
Lane was treated for a non-life threatening gunshot wound and released to police custody. Lane is currently being held in St. Louis awaiting extradition to Madison County.
Three others in the car also were arrested, but no charged had been filed as of Monday afternoon.
According to the Madison County State’s Attorney’s office, the aggravated assault charges are class 3 felonies, and punishable with up to 25 months of probation and/or 2 to 5 years in prison.
The aggravated assault fleeing or attempting to elude a peace officer charge is a class 4 felony, and is punishable with up to 30 months of probation and/or 1 to 3 years in prison.
“Law enforcement officers are true heroes who put their lives on the line every day to ensure our safety and security, and our office will always seek to bring justice to those who threaten the lives of our first responders,” Haine said.
This story was originally published August 9, 2021 at 1:11 PM.