Day by Day

A trained nurse, Rachelle Jackson ran toward the sound of the crash. A Chicago police car had collided with another vehicle and was starting to smoke, two officers still inside. Fearing an explosion, she quickly pulled one officer from the passenger side.
She never imagined her act of kindness nearly six years ago would land her in jail for more than 10 months on charges that she robbed, battered and disarmed a peace officer.
After pulling Officer Brogan, the passenger, from the wreckage and helping her to a nearby stoop, police approached Jackson and told her that the driver's weapon had been stolen. When she was asked to go to the police station for questioning, she thought it was as a witness to the accident.
Instead, Jackson was accused of the theft. She was held for two days with little food and water and was threatened with violence until she agreed to sign a statement police had prepared for her. She was then charged and spent more than 10 months in the Cook County Jail awaiting trial.
"This was an innocent woman who saved a police officer from a burning car," said Chris Smith, who tried the case with Dan Alexander. "There were many heroes out there who helped the police, but they all turned into suspects because some guy ran away with the gun."