EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) — An auxiliary police officer is dead after falling 50 feet (15 meters) while chasing suspects across a bridge in East St. Louis.
Authorities say 44-year-old Ricardo Davis vaulted over a concrete barrier on the Poplar Street Bridge Saturday afternoon, but apparently didn't realize the span didn't continue on the other side. Davis suffered multiple broken bones and internal bleeding, and was pronounced dead at a hospital.
The car that he and other Washington Park police officers were chasing had collided with several vehicles on the bridge. When the two suspects jumped out of the car, Davis pursued them on foot.
The suspects have been arrested.
Davis was an unpaid auxiliary police officer in Washington Park and was about to begin the police academy in the hopes of joining the force.
Disclaimer: This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Associated Press (AP) wire.
