» Winslow on trooper response

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — An Illinois State Trooper is still in the hospital after being shot in Springfield late Tuesday night.

“Obviously you train on best tactics, how to be safe, to try to keep yourself safe, but you never know when something is going to go awry, or go sideways. Evidently that’s what happened last night,” Kenny Winslow (pictured), the Executive Director of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, told WAND News.

ISP said Cristobal Santana, a 37 year old from Chicago, shot Illinois State Trooper Dakota “Kody” Chapman-Green in the leg before running from the scene on Tuesday night.

“We try to train to deal with stress, to deal with all the issues that are going on, the psychological effects of stress that are on the body. That’s where training comes in, so you don’t have to think about it — you just rely on your training and move forward,” Winslow explained.

Winslow is also the former Springfield Police Chief. He said Sangamon County has a unique communication system that likely helped officers get to the scene to help Trooper Chapman-Green.

“We can communicate with the county, we can communicate with the smaller jurisdictions — whether it’s the colleges and universities, whether it’s Southern View, Lealand Grove, Chatham — and the state police. So that’s what inter-operability communication is about, so when you have these emergency situations like this, we can all get on the same channel and communication together,” Winslow said.

“I spent my morning this morning talking with Madison as she sits with her fiancée in the ICU,” State Representative Bradley Fritts said on the House floor Wednesday.

Rep. Fritts said his staff member, Madison Kinsel, is engaged to Chapman-Green.

“I’m angry at the needless violence against our law enforcement officers. I’m angry at people who scream to de-fund the police. More than that, I’m angry at this assembly that is dead set at making their jobs as hard as possible,” Rep. Fritts said.

He’s now calling for the statehouse to support stronger protections for police statewide.

“When do we finally decide to back our law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line each and every day for us,” Rep. Fritts asked.

State Senator Doris Turner (D-Springfield) said in a statement:

“I was saddened to learn about the shooting of an Illinois State Police officer in Springfield while in the line of duty. I am continuously keeping the trooper, his family and his colleagues in my thoughts. I wish for a speedy recovery.”