IKORCC and Local 599 member Patrick Baum risked his life today to save a police officer and helped apprehend a person wanted for multiple attempted child abductions in Hammond. The Hammond Police Department held a special ceremony and presented Patrick with a bravery award for his heroic actions.

Officers say Patrick risked his personal safety to assist an officer in need while he was trying to secure a dangerous individual believed to be involved in multiple child abductions. Patrick’s actions that day helped to avoid a potential tragedy. The suspect who was arrested and charged with 5 criminal counts including Attempted Criminal Confinement and Resisting Law Enforcement is in custody.

A statement from The Hammond, Indiana Police Department stated:
On June 1 at approximately 2:30 pm, Hammond Police responded to the 2900 block of 165th street in reference to an attempted child abduction. A 15-year-old female reported that she was grabbed by a black male in a vehicle. The female stated that she was able to quickly pull away from the male and ran. Witnesses on scene gave police a detailed description of the vehicle he was driving and the license plate. A few minutes later, a 10-year-old female reported that a male matching the same description tried to lure her into his vehicle in the 6400 block of New Hampshire.

Hammond Police Officer Daniel Sangkaratana was actively patrolling the area in search of the suspect when he located the vehicle with matching license plates from Illinois. Officer Sangkaratana advised that he located the suspect inside his vehicle. Officer Sangkaratana performed a traffic stop of the vehicle and the suspect immediately exited his vehicle and began to walk around with a blank stare. Officer Sangkaratana gave the suspect orders that were ignored. The suspect went back into his vehicle and began to reach under the driver’s seat of the vehicle.

Fearing that the suspect was reaching for a weapon, Officer Sangkaratana ran up the suspect and grabbed his arm attempting to stop the suspect from grabbing a weapon. The suspect spun around and began to fight with the officer. The suspect began to grab Officer Sangkaratana’s vest and gun belt. The suspect pushed the officer into the street and continued to struggle.

At this time, a local Hammond resident, Patrick Baum, was driving by and observed what was happening. He stopped his vehicle and exited. Mr. Baum ran up to the suspect fighting with Officer Sangkaratana and tackled him to the ground. Mr. Baum assisted Officer Sangkaratana in holding the suspect on the ground until fellow officers arrived and the officers were able to secure the suspect in the police vehicle.

Mr. Baum was presented with an award for bravery today. The Hammond Police Department would like to thank Mr. Patrick Baum for his selfless and brave actions that afternoon. He risked his personal safety to assist an officer in need while he was trying to secure a dangerous individual believed to be involved in multiple child abductions. Mr. Baum’s actions that day helped to avoid a potential tragedy. The suspect who was arrested and charged with 5 criminal counts including Attempted Criminal Confinement and Resisting Law Enforcement is in custody.