 On July 20, 2009, Fruge and Erlenbush along with multiple officers
and agencies were involved in the search for Michael Knuth, who
reportedly had fired a handgun in the direction of a vehicle
occupied by two females. It was known that Knuth was in possession
of a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun.Knuth was a passenger in a
pickup truck westbound on Decatur Street in Lincoln. At
approximately 8 p.m., both Fruge and Erlenbush were involved in a
traffic stop at Decatur and Kickapoo streets and exited their squad
cars with weapons drawn. Knuth was ordered multiple times to show
his hands, which were not visible. Knuth raised his hand while
firing the weapon toward Erlenbush. Fruge and Erlenbush fired their
service weapons, striking Knuth multiple times, while completely
exposing themselves to potential great bodily harm until Knuth was
no longer a threat.
Knuth survived his injuries and is currently being held in the
Illinois Department of Corrections.
[Text from file received from the
Lincoln Police Department] |
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