A man was convicted Tuesday of driving toward an Elmhurst police officer during a traffic stop last year, prompting the officer to shoot him.
Byron Auterberry, 34, of the Austin neighborhood, was found guilty of felony counts of aggravated fleeing and attempting to elude a peace officer, according to the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office. A jury took less than an hour to find him guilty of the three counts.
About 4:45 p.m. Feb. 27, 2018, officers pulled Auterberry over near the intersection of York Street and Crestview, according to a statement from Elmhurst police last year. During the stop, Auterberry drove his vehicle within several feet of officer Alexander Kefaloukos, causing the officer to shoot him, authorities said.
Auterberry then crashed into another vehicle and drove off, prosectors said. He was later taken into custody and charged.
“My office will do all we can to ensure that police officers are able to do their jobs without having to worry about their personal safety,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement. “The jury’s guilty verdict in this case sends the message that in DuPage County we will protect our police officers just as they protect us.”
An investigation determined that Kefaloukos was “completely justified in his actions and that no criminal charges will be filed” against him in connection with the shooting, Berlin announced last May.
Auterberry’s next court date was set for March 5 for the return of a pre-sentence report, prosecutors said.
