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Thomas Koza, 24, was fatally shot in the chest and the side by police officers after he plowed his car into a squad car, injuring one officer, drove directly at another officer and finally brandished a handgun in plain view of other officers, a police spokesman said. The three injured officers were treated and released later that afternoon.
�The officers were attempting to extract him from the vehicle,� said police department spokesperson Pat Camden. �(Koza) reached down and came up with a .380 semi-automatic handgun. The officers stepped back in defense position and fired two shots.�
Koza was taken to the Illinois Masonic Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 2:27 p.m.
Police initially approached Koza at about 1:30 p.m. after receiving an anonymous tip that he was dealing drugs near his family owned pet shop on the intersection of Grand Avenue and Menard Street, Camden said. Koza has five previous drug arrests and one narcotics conviction, according to Chicago police.
�(Koza) was the source of narcotics in the area,� Camden said.
At the time of Koza�s death, Camden said, three to four grams of narcotics were found on his body.
John Arnold, a long-time Portage Park resident who lives half a block away from where the shooting occurred, was shocked by the violence that rocked his peaceful community.
�This has never happened,� Arnold said. �There have been lots of accidents, but this is a nice quiet area�I�ve never seen somebody shooting somebody.�
Police approached Koza initially while he was parking his Red Ford Explorer, Camden said.
Koza, upon seeing the officers approach, hit the gas and gunned his Explorer forward into a van, Camden said. Koza quickly reversed and slammed into a squad car and hit an officer, then fled, Camden said.
Camden said that Koza then approached the intersection of Diversey and Central avenues where his car became blocked by traffic. Police caught up with him on foot, and Koza, with a gun in his hand, drove his car directly towards an officer, Camden said. The officer fired once and missed. Koza fled again.
Finally, Camden said that at Laramie Avenue and Irving Park Road Koza crashed his car on a curb. Once again, as police approached on foot, he pulled his weapon and pointed it at officers, Camden said. Four shots were fired, two of them hitting Koza, Camden said.
Camden said police do not believe that Koza ever actually fired his weapon.
