Michael Ganter. Photo from Cook County sheriff’s office.
A Cook County judge was taken to a hospital after being accidentally Tased by a sheriff’s deputy and hit by a defendant Thursday afternoon at the Maywood courthouse, officials said.
A Cook County sheriff’s deputy accidentally injured the judge when he Tased the defendant who had rushed toward the bench, officials said.
Officials are still investigating the incident, but it appears as if one of the Taser prongs hit the judge’s hand, said Cara Smith, executive director of Cook County Jail.
Michael Ganter was appearing in court for a status hearing on a pending aggravated battery case, and was being escorted back to the lockup area when he broke free from two sheriff’s deputies, Smith said.
He attacked the judge, hitting him in his head and body, Smith said.
The judge, who was not identified, was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Smith said. His injuries were not thought to be life-threatening.
“Our primary concern obviously is for the well-being of the judge, who we believe is doing OK at this point,” Smith said. “He’s doing well.”
Ganter, 30, of Bellwood, was booked into the jail after Stone Park police arrested him Aug. 12 on the aggravated battery charge, court records show. He was being held on a $200,000 bond.
Additional charges are pending for Thursday’s incident, Smith said. Ganter was treated and released from a hospital, and is being returned to police custody.
