Firefighter strikes man with halligan tool during confrontation

A man was knocked unconscious after a Chicago firefighter struck him with a hallivan tool during a confrontation on Sunday shortly after 11:30 a.m. in the 7300-block of S. Maryland Avenue. The incident was captured on cellphone video and widely shared on social media. Police identified the man in the video as Lamar Brown, 32, of Chicago. Brown was charged with two felony counts of aggravated battery. He is due in court on Tuesday.

During the encounter, a firefighter was seen exiting a fire vehicle carrying a hallivan tool, a large metal rod used in firefighting. As the argument escalated, the man approached the firefighter and appeared to wind up to throw a punch. The firefighter fended him off, and police said she deployed a Taser, but it was ineffective. ABC7 Chicago police affairs consultant Bill Kushner said the firefighter's use of force was legally justified, comparing it to a private citizen's use of force. After the initial confrontation, the man continued to chase the firefighter. ABC7 will not show the video beyond the point where the hallivan tool struck the man in the head, knocking him unconscious and causing him to fall to the ground.

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a photorealistic news photo of a man lying on the ground, unconscious, with a hallivan tool near his head, as a firefighter stands nearby holding a Taser, in a busy street scene with onlookers.