The Indiana State Police has released the names of four police officers who were involved in an incident that took place in Dyer on August 10, 2017. The officers involved are as follows:
1) Victor Zamora, 37, Lake County Sheriff’s Department, 13 years of service
2) Luke Schreiber, 41, St. John Police Department, 10 years of service (18 total)
3) Jacob Patzschke, 25, St. John Police Department, 1 year of service (3 total)
4) Daniel Kolodziej, 31, Dyer Police Department, 1 year of service (5 total)
The officers remain on paid administrative leave per their respective departments policies.
This incident remains under investigation by the Indiana State Police. Upon completion of the investigation, the results will be turned over to the Lake County Prosecutor’s Office for review.
On August 10, 2017, at approximately 5:38 a.m., officers with the Dyer Police Department, St. John Police Department and Lake County Sheriff’s Department were involved in a vehicle pursuit of a stolen car in the area of 9300 Sheffield Ave. in Dyer.
During the initial pursuit, the suspect vehicle struck a pedestrian in Saulk Village and continued to flee.
Indiana officers were able to locate the vehicle in Indiana and pursued the vehicle north into the gas station at the intersection of 81st and Hart Street where it struck another white vehicle before coming to rest on Hart Street, north of 81st Ave.
What occurred between the suspect and the officers is under investigation, but the interaction resulted in multiple shots being fired. The suspect died at the scene.
The suspect has been identified as Mark P. Coffey, 33, of South Chicago Heights, IL. Coffey had an active warrant for Battery/Robbery and was considered to be armed and dangerous.
Coffey also had an ankle monitoring bracelet on his person issued by the Illinois Department of Corrections.
The Indiana State Police is being assisted by the Northwest Indiana Major Crime Task Force. The Indiana State Police Crime Scene investigators processed the scene.
