Man sentenced in incident that injured officer

Sheila McGuire, Herald Reporter
Posted 10/26/21

Mallett gets 5-13 years behind bars

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Man sentenced in incident that injured officer

Posted

EVANSTON — The Evanston man involved in an altercation with law enforcement that resulted in Evanston Police Department Sgt. Chad Liechty’s leg being broken has pleaded guilty to and been sentenced for several charges stemming from the January incident. Cody Mallett was arrested on Jan. 18 of this year after officers responded to a domestic dispute call.

According to police reports filed after the incident, Liechty and EPD Officers Alex Heide and Brandon Nelson responded to a domestic dispute call at Mallett’s residence late on the evening of Jan. 18. At the time, Mallett’s wife reportedly told officers he was intoxicated after drinking all day and had been threatening her before locking himself in an upstairs bedroom. A friend who was at the home confirmed Mallett had become increasingly drunk throughout the evening, until finally becoming belligerent enough that the friend had wrestled a kitchen knife away from him.

The report notes that officers heard Mallett yell down from the bedroom that he would “pop a cop,” leading officers to question his wife if there were firearms in the home. She reported there were none and Heide and Nelson continued to speak with her on the front step of the residence. Liechty remained at the bottom of the stairs calling for Mallett to come out and speak with them.

Mallett reportedly exited the bedroom a couple of times, while continuing to yell at his wife, but kept returning to the room. He reportedly appeared intoxicated and was slurring his words at times. While Liechty continued to try to speak with him, Mallett came out of the bedroom and began to move aggressively toward Liechty, who ordered him to stop.

Mallett reportedly ignored those commands and continued toward Liechty, pulling a kitchen steak knife from behind his back while doing so. Liechty attempted to deploy his taser to stop Mallett; however, his taser reportedly did not work. Mallett then lunged at Liechty and attempted to stab him in the chest, an effort that was thwarted by Liechty’s protective bulletproof vest.

The report notes that Liechty continued to scuffle with Mallett while attempting to disarm him, while Heide and Nelson came to his aid. The three officers were then successfully able to disarm Mallett, who continued to resist arrest and fight the officers. He was eventually subdued and secured in a police vehicle, at which point Liechty told Heide and Nelson that Mallett had attempted to stab him and that he believed his leg had been injured.

Subsequent assessment at Evanston Regional Hospital confirmed Liechty’s suspicions when an X-ray revealed a fractured fibula that required surgical repair. There were no injuries to Liechty’s chest from the attempted stabbing.

Mallett was charged with felony interfering with a police officer with intent to cause bodily injury, aggravated assault and battery, misdemeanor interfering with a police officer, domestic battery and domestic assault. At a change of plea hearing in late September, Mallett pleaded guilty to both charges of interfering with a police officer and the aggravated assault and battery charge.

He was sentenced to three to eight years’ imprisonment for the felony interference charge and one year of incarceration for the misdemeanor interference charge, to run concurrently. Mallett was sentenced to two to five years for the aggravated assault and battery charge, to run consecutive to the interference penalties, for a total of 5-13 years behind bars. Mallett was also ordered to pay $4,607.21 in restitution along with several hundred dollars in court fees. The domestic battery and assault charges were dismissed through the plea agreement.