Channahon cop goes above and beyond

CHANNAHON – Channahon Police Officer John Blough thought he was pulling over a lost motorist just before midnight a few weeks ago.

By the time his shift ended, the driver had been arrested on several domestic abuse charges. His boss, Police Chief Jeff Wold, said Blough probably saved the life of the car’s passenger – a Joliet woman who had allegedly just been thrown off a second-floor balcony and forced into the vehicle to be taken to an unknown location.

“I’m not sure what would have happened to her if Officer Blough hadn’t made the traffic stop,” Wold said.

Blough, a fourth-year rookie, received this week a letter of commendation from his department for the Dec. 22 incident.

“Your actions removed a violent offender from the streets and saved the victim from additional harm,” Wold stated to Blough in the letter. “You more than likely saved the victim’s life.”

It was midnight almost on the dot that night when Blough saw a Dodge Charger headed east on Route 6 near McKinley Woods Road with its high beams on. The driver had passed a couple of cars and had not dimmed his lights. He also was driving much slower than the speed limit; Blough thought maybe he was lost and looking at road signs.

Once pulled over, the driver was polite and apologized for the high beams. The passenger was facing away from him, but Blough said she told him they were going to her mother’s house in Ottawa.

That was the first red flag: going east would be the wrong direction for Ottawa, and children know how to get to their mothers’ homes, he said.

Blough said the driver told him he didn’t have his license. He gave him a name Blough soon discovered was a fake. The age the driver gave him didn’t ring true either.

The supervising night shift officer, Dustin Carlson, soon pulled up behind Blough’s squad, and Blough told him he suspected something else was going on. When Blough returned to the Charger, the situation became clear.

“At that time, she leaned over to me,” he said of the passenger, “and I saw fresh bruises on her face. I asked her if she was in a fight, and he said yes. ... I asked him if it was with him, and he gave a nervous laugh and said it wasn’t him.”

About that time, Blough and Carlson were notified by Western Will County Communication Center that it was looking for the same type vehicle in which a female had been reported being held captive by an ex-boyfriend.

“We advised WESCOM we had that vehicle,” Blough said.

Minooka Police Sgt. Matt Chinski arrived to assist. The driver, Derrick D. Williams-Scott, 26, of Joliet, was arrested. Blough said he cursed at the officers and tried to kick out the squad car’s window.

Once Williams-Scott was away from his passenger, Blough said the woman told him Williams-Scott hurt her.

“She was very scared,” Blough said, “and she was in excruciating pain. She couldn’t even lie down. ... Channahon paramedics are top-notch. They got her safely out of the car, and they did a good job at calming her down and realizing that helping her was their No. 1 priority.”

Williams-Scott was charged with aggravated domestic battery, domestic battery, unlawful restraint and interfering with the reporting of domestic violence by Joliet police. Channahon turned him over to Joliet police since the crimes occurred there, Wold said.

Bond was set for Williams-Scott at $500,000. He is next scheduled for a pre-trial hearing at 9 a.m. Jan. 20.

After Monday’s village board meeting, where Blough received the commendation, Trustee Missey Schumacher said Blough is a hero for recognizing a dangerous situation.

“He more than likely saved her life if not that night, then some night in the future,” Schumacher said. “I thank John for trusting his instincts because that could have been a routine traffic stop where they were sent on their way.”

Blough said he appreciated receiving the commendation.

“I was just doing a job,” he said. “That’s what we’re all here for. It’s always a team job, and I enjoyed that our department recognizes when a good job is done.”