Man shot to death after injuring 2 officers in Austin neighborhood

A man was fatally shot by police, and two officers were injured, during a confrontation following a domestic disturbance in the Austin neighborhood on the West Side this afternoon.
About 1:40 p.m. police were called to the 300 block of North Latrobe Avenue for a domestic disturbance involving a knife, and when officers tried to interview the suspect he started fighting, repeatedly striking one of the officers in the face.
During the struggle the officer fired his gun, striking the suspect.
The man was taken in serious-to-critical condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. The man, in his 30s, was later declared dead at the hospital.
The two officers were taken local hospitals, at least one to Northwestern Memorial Hospital -- one in good-to-fair condition, the other in fair-to-serious condition. ThevOfficers were not shot.
Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 spokesman Pat Camden said a sergeant shot a man after a struggle that came after an attempt to handcuff the suspect.
Police responded to a call of a man with a knife in the 300 North Latrobe Avenue, Camden said. Two squad cars, one with a woman officer, the other with a sergeant, responded.
On arrival, the officers confronted the man, Camden said. At some point, the sergeant put a handcuff on the man’s wrist, Camden said. The man then at first became belligerent, then became violent, Camden said.
The female officer took out pepper spray, and tried to disable the man, unsuccessfully, Camden said. The man attacked the sergeant, and at some point was able to get on top of the sergeant, beating him about the head and shoulders, Camden said.
The sergeant said to the officer, “shoot him, shoot him.” But the officer was reluctant to fire because she was afraid of shooting the sergeant, Camden said.
Soon after, the sergeant was able to get his gun out and fired at the attacker, fatally wounding him, Camden said.
The sergeant was taken to Northwestern for treatment of injuries in the attack, as well as for injuries from the pepper spray, Camden said. The female officer was taken to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park for treatment of minor injuries.
Killed was Claude A. Ellis, 35, of the 300 block of North Latrobe Avenue in the Austin  neighborhood, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
Ellis had numerous arrests and several convictions for drug-related and violent offenses, including once pleading guilty to a charge of home invasion in exchange for prosecutors dropping an aggravated battery charge, court records show.
Records also show Ellis has been the subject of protective orders dating to the early 1990s. In 1993, at age 17, after being accused of violating a protective order, a judge ordered Ellis to undergo a behavioral exam and later found him unfit to stand trial.
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