Former Aldermanic Candidate Charged In Road Rage Incident
CHICAGO (STNG) -- A former Chicago aldermanic candidate with a history of arrests has been charged with assault after allegedly following a motorist and hitting him repeatedly with a metal rod in an apparent road rage incident in northwest suburban Rolling Meadows.
Salman Aftab, 48, of 6403 N. Bell Ave., was charged with one count each of battery and aggravated assault in the incident that happened Oct. 3 at 9:33 a.m. in the 1400 block of Golf Road, according to a Rolling Meadows police report.
Responding officers found a fight in progress between Aftab and another man in a parking lot. The man told police Aftab allegedly gave him the finger and yelled at him while driving in traffic, according to Rolling Meadows police Sgt. Tony Gaspari.
The man left the roadway and was allegedly followed by Aftab. The man was stopped in a parking lot behind a truck when Aftab exited his car with a metal road and approached his car, the report said.
Aftab allegedly poked the metal rod into the partially open window of the man’s minivan, striking him in the face twice. The man then exited his car and was allegedly struck in the head, according to the report.
The man fought back, punching and kicking Aftab, and was struck in the head two more times before he grabbed the metal rod and threw it to the ground, the report said. Officers arrived a short time later.
Aftab was taken to Northwest Community Healthcare in Arlington Heights, where he was treated and released for back pain. The other motorist was not hospitalized, according to Gaspari.
Aftab was a candidate in the aldermanic race for the 50th Ward in 2007, eventually losing to incumbent Bernard Stone.
He has a history of five arrests but no convictions, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Four were misdemeanor charges arising from alleged arguments -- two in restaurants, one over cab fare and the other over a parking space -- between 1996 and 2002. The most serious was a murder charge in the 1992 stabbing of Paul Warda during a fight between cabdrivers at a Near North Side restaurant.
A judge found Aftab not guilty after people who said they had been witnesses gave testimony “contradictory to what they told the police,” according to Lynda Peters, prosecutor in the case.
Aftab chalked up his previous arrests to his role as a community activist who often winds up in volatile situations while trying to help resolve disputes.
He is scheduled to appear on the latest charges at the Rolling Meadows courthouse on Nov. 13, Gaspari said.
Copyright 2008 STNG Wire, The Chicago Sun-Times. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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