Smith Mike

PRESS OFFICE (312) 744-3334 STATEMENT Chicago police officer Michael Smith issued the following statement regarding his apprehension Monday of an Indiana prison escapee near Mayor Richard M. Daley’s Grand Beach, Michigan home: “The truth is I’ve always wanted to be a Chicago police officer. I’ve always wanted to play a role in helping people be safe. But you live your whole life and never expect something like this to happen,” Smith said late Monday afternoon. “I was doing my job. I did what any police officer would do.” Smith, 38, has been a Chicago police officer for 12 years and a member of Mayor Daley’s security detail for seven years. Smith had been assigned to guard Daley’s Grand Beach home over the weekend, while the mayor and his wife, Maggie, were there with their three grandchildren. Smith said he had been informed late Sunday night that three prisoners from the nearby Indiana State Prison had escaped and might be in the vicinity. Smith was sitting in his car about a block away from the mayor’s house just after 5 a.m. when he looked in the rearview mirror and noticed two men who looked disoriented and disheveled, walking toward Lake Michigan. “I immediately had a feeling something was wrong. I already had my guard up. It was 5 o’clock in the morning, and these guys looked like they had been laying in wait somewhere. One of them had all these tattoos all over both his arms. Something clearly wasn’t right,” said Smith, who, shortly before spotting the men, had used his blackberry to get a full description and see pictures of them. He said he drove up next to them, drew his gun, identified himself as a Chicago police officer and commanded them to stop, but they started running up a nearby hill.

“I took off after them and was able to pull one of them down and pin him,” Smith said. “Once I grabbed him, I verbally commanded him to calm down. I said a few more strongly worded things to convince him that he’d be much better off not struggling anymore. He clearly understood. I had my revolver on him. “I asked him to identify the other guy who got away, but he wouldn’t. In fact, he said absolutely nothing else. ” Smith said he told a curious neighbor who was wandering towards him to, “get back in your house, lock all the doors and call the police,” as he handcuffed 48-year-old Charles Smith, one of three men discovered missing from the prison Sunday morning. “I certainly did not go into work thinking the day would go this way,” said Smith, who comes from a family of firefighters and is the father of six children, ranging in age from 3 to 12 years-old. “All I can say is you just never know. Again, I did what any police officer would do. I’m glad they got the other guy. But I won’t be able to rest until they get the other two.” ###