A Chicago woman accused of stealing a police vehicle while naked and on camera and dragging an officer has been acquitted.
Whitley Temple, 35, was acquitted of all charges on Wednesday after a judge accepted her insanity defense. Cook County Judge Tyria Walton acquitted her of one count of attempted murder and also found her not guilty by reason of insanity of two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer, vehicular hijacking and possession of a stolen vehicle, local station WBBM-TV reported.
Temple remains free but must appear in court to meet with mental health officials to discuss a treatment plan, the outlet said.
Grandmother pleads guilty in shooting deaths of nine people, including a 5-year-old girl, in Chicago over Memorial Day weekend
The video shows the moment a Chicago police officer was pulled out of his vehicle by suspect Whitley Temple, 35, on June 13, 2022. Temple was charged with attempted murder but later acquitted. (@chicagocritter)
Temple is accused of stealing a patrol car and dragging an officer who found him lying naked in the street in West Garfield Park on June 13, 2022, police said.
Chicago Police Officer Edward Popish found Temple after responding to a report of shots fired in the area that morning. When he got out of his patrol car to find out what she was doing, Temple attacked the officer and drove off, Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said at the time. FOX 32 Chicago.
Man suspected of shooting outside Chicago’s Wrigley Field to be held without bail
Temple was in a “psychotic state” when she stole Officer Edward Popish’s car, ran him over and dragged him on the Kennedy Expressway, her defense said. (@chicagocritter)
Video of the incident was circulated on social media and resurfaced after Temple was acquitted.
The video shows an officer struggling with a woman in the driver’s seat of a patrol SUV. As the woman puts the car in reverse, the officer falls out the unlocked front door. The SUV drags the officer for several seconds while the driver backs up, and the officer runs from the vehicle.
Officer Popish can be seen kneeling as the police SUV drives away with the door ajar.
Chicago mayor touts achievements in leading ‘greatest city in the world’
The judge accepted the defence’s argument of insanity and found the defendant not guilty of all charges relating to the incident. (@chicagocritter)
Temple was later arrested after driving his patrol car at speeds of up to 90 mph on the Kennedy Expressway and crashing into four vehicles at the intersection of Harrison and Damen streets in the Illinois Medical District near West Illinois, WBBM-TV reported.
Popish, a 23-year veteran of the police force, was hospitalized and required stitches for a head injury.
Click here to get the FOX News app
Temple’s lawyers argued that his client was in a “psychotic state” and had been worrying his family and friends for days before the incident. He had “delusional thoughts” that “someone was after him and was trying to kill the women in his family,” according to WBBM.
The lawyer also said Temple believed she had been sexually assaulted prior to the incident.
