Man found dead took cop”s gun, police say

SPRING VALLEY, Ill. – A man under arrest inside a police station wrested away an officer’s gun Saturday, beat the officer over the head with it and was later found dead of a gunshot wound in the building, authorities said.

Robert McFadin, 31, was in a holding area when he allegedly took the gun and assaulted the officer. The officer then fled with another employee, leaving the suspect locked inside the building, Police Chief Douglas Bernabei said.

When other law enforcement officers arrived, they entered the building and found the suspect dead of a gunshot wound to the head, Bernabei said. Authorities said the wound was self-inflicted.

The injured officer was being treated at a hospital, Bernabei said. McFadin was not handcuffed at the time of the attack, officials said.

“It was one of the most brutal assaults I have seen in 25 years of law enforcement,” Bernabei said.

Bernabei said McFadin was spotted early Saturday driving near the home of his estranged wife, who had filed a protection order against him. Police pulled him over and arrested him on charges of drunken driving, Bernabei said.

McFadin posted bond later that morning and was released, but police arrested him again when he confronted his wife later at a restaurant, Bernabei said.

There has been a spate of inmates or suspects attacking officers for their guns recently – with deadly consequences.

Last Sunday, a Providence, R.I., detective was killed with his own gun at police headquarters by a suspect who was not handcuffed and managed to get hold of the weapon.

In March, a defendant in a rape trial in Atlanta allegedly overpowered a court deputy and took her gun, then killed the judge presiding over his case, a court reporter, a deputy outside the courthouse and a federal customs agent.

The suspects in both incidents were arrested and charged with murder.

On Thursday in Augusta, Ga., hospital police shot and killed an inmate who fled from a medical building after overpowering a state corrections officer and taking his gun, authorities said.