Published: July 08, 2008 12:18 pm            

Altamont officer fired weapon at vehicle before it fled

ALTAMONT — An Altamont police officer fired shots early Monday at a vehicle later involved in a shootout with police in Madison County, Chief Kendal Balding said this morning.

Balding confirmed shots were fired in the abortive traffic stop at about 12:30 a.m. Monday on Interstate 70 between the Altamont and St. Elmo exits. The officer had stopped the vehicle on suspicion of violating “Scott’s Law,” which requires motorists to change lanes when seeing police or emergency vehicles on the shoulder of a road.

Balding would not say whether the occupants of the black Camaro fired on the officer; however, he did confirm the passenger in the vehicle displayed a weapon prior to the officer taking a shot at the vehicle. He said his investigation is pending and should be completed by the end of the week.

The chief declined to identify the officer.

“I’m not going to release the officer’s name,” Balding said. “That’s for his own protection.”

Balding said there were no injuries in the incident and the squad car was undamaged.

An occupant shot at a Madison County sheriff’s deputy when he attempted to stop the vehicle about 1:30 a.m. A high-speed chase ensued, and the car was later ditched in Collinsville. After an intensive manhunt, police arrested two adult males and a juvenile female. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, police recovered several weapons after the suspects were in custody.

The car was reported stolen from the Cincinnati area, police have said.

The Illinois State Police District 11 station in Collinsville declined to release any new information this morning, pending a discussion with the state’s attorney in that Metro East county.

Bill Grimes can be reached at 217-347-7151 ext. 131 or bill.grimes@effinghamdailynews.com.