Captured Illinois assault and child endangering suspect references BLM-inspired law, said he’d ‘get out soon’

Erik Chandler Jr faces two counts of aggravated assault, one count of fleeing or attempting to elude a peace officer, one count of endangering the life or health of a child, and one count of resisting a peace officer related to an incident that took place on Dec. 27 in Joliet, a town about 45 miles southwest of Chicago.

According to FOX32, an officer in an unmarked vehicle spotted Chandler driving with heavily tinted windows and followed him into a parking lot, where he realized that the driver had an outstanding warrant. There was a woman and child in the car as well.

Chandler refused to exit the vehicle, and instead fled the scene.

It wasn't until a week later, on Jan. 4, that police finally caught up to Chandler at the Joliet Animal Control building and arrested him.

Shortly after being taken into custody and allegedly claiming he'd be out soon, he was released and allowed to walk free until his next court date on Jan. 24, where he will be arraigned.

Signed into law in 2021, the SAFE-T Act "enacts extensive reform impacting many areas of the criminal justice system, including pre-arrest diversion, policing, pretrial, sentencing, and corrections."

The act abolished cash bail, prevented risk assessment from being "the sole basis for a detention," and changed a number of pretrial release procedures, including "release on own recognizance, warrant alternatives, and conditions of release, including electric monitoring and home confinement revocation, modification, and sanctions."