|
Every week, Linda Hansen attends the Evanston Police Department’s Deployment Meetings, takes notes on various topics and writes about other police-related matters of interest to ordinary citizens like her.
In the Squad Room - Actions and Reactions
Even people who never took physics will probably recall
Newton’s Third Law: for every action, there is an equal and opposite
reaction. That statement pretty effectively
sums up the past week’s events and encompasses not only the Evanston murder of
Donte Blackwell but also the assassination of Fox Lake police Lt. Joe
Gliniewicz on 9/1.
The
shooting of 23-year old Blackwell and another victim raises the threat of
retaliation and more violence, engaging not only the Detective Bureau and
NORTAF (North Regional Major Crimes Task Force – serving our town and 11 other
jurisdictions) in solving the crime, but the department, as a whole, in
suppressing reprisals on the street.
Several officers from the EPD who are assigned to the NIPAS (Northern Illinois Police Alarm System), which provides mutual aid to jurisdictions throughout the area, joined other local law enforcement agencies
in Fox Lake following the shooting death of Lt. Gliniewicz.
Notably, the Deployment Meeting ended with a prayer for
safety and peace from the Chaplain/Clergy Team. Inspired by current events, it
was composed by “Father Bob” Oldershaw and read by Chaplain Joey Rodgers.
Now, the rest of the news:
Deployment Meeting - September 3, 2015
Past Week:· ·
- Dakane Masters attempted to evade police when he
was seen riding a bike without a headlight near Church and McDaniel in the
early hours of 8/29. He was apprehended in Skokie and found with a .25-caliber
semi-automatic handgun. He was charged
with UUW (Unlawful Use of a Weapon) by a felon
- On 8/30, there was a Man with a Gun reported near Dodge and Lyons. Police were called
to the scene where the suspect attempted to flee on foot.
Gary Dewyane Walker, Jr. was apprehended and a Colt .45 caliber handgun recovered. He was charged
with UUW by a felon.
- Most of us are aware that around 1 AM in 8/31,
several shots rang out near Dodge and Lyons, killing Niles resident Donte
Blackwell, 23, and injuring another 21-year old victim. Witnesses told investigators that two males on bicycles approached the victims, shot them and then rode northbound on
Dodge. NORTAF is assisting EPD with the investigation.
- On 9/1, unknown subjects fired shots into an
unoccupied vehicle on the street in the 1900 block of Emerson. Bullet holes were also found on the first
floor of a residence.
- Five 9mm shell casings were found when cops
responded to a 9/1 Shots Fired call in the 1900 block of Darrow.
- PST officers logged 24 hours on the Cannondales
and 5 hours on the Department’s electric ATV during this period. They also attended a job summit at
Fleetwood-Jourdain on 8/29, a First Ward meeting on 9/1 and, in response to the
Blackwell homicide, monitored street activity in various hot spots
throughout the city.
- On 9/1, a knife-wielding suspect demanded money
from a clerk in the 1700 block of Orrington. Unsuccessful in this attempt, he
left the establishment. The same suspect also entered a business in the 700 block of Church and stole
an unattended backpack. The description
of the suspect, a younger white male, has been confirmed by video evidence. Police recovered a knife and a mask, thought
to be related, at another nearby establishment.
-
There were three residential burglaries during
this period: On 8/28 in the 600 block of Sheridan and the 1600 block of
Florence and in the 1100 block of Garnett on 8/29. The EPD is stepping up its burglary
suppression efforts. In two of these
incidents, burglars entered through unlocked windows.
Looking Ahead:
- NET and TAC units will be shifting their focus
to assisting NORTAF in the homicide investigation and monitoring area hot spots.
- In conjunction with the West End Block Club,
the EPD invites residents to attend an Outdoor Roll Call at 3:30 on 9/5 at the
corner of Leland and Lyons.
-
PST officers plan to attend the West End Area Block
Club meeting on 9/8. They, along with other members of the
Department, will step up their presence in known hot spots.
- Traffic is taking part in the IDOT Labor Day safety campaign that runs through 9/7. They will be on hand, along with PST officers, when the Wildcats face Stanford's Cardinals at Ryan Field on 9/5. Kickoff is at 11 AM.
Inquiring Minds: What are a juvenile’s rights after getting that free ride to
the police station? An example might be a teenager drinking beer in a
park after curfew. Does everyone get “one phone call” like they do in the
movies? Are the rules different depending on the type of crime?
Sergeant Mark
Dobrolowski from the EPD’s Juvenile Bureau had the answer:
“When a juvenile (17
and under) is brought into the station for a minor status offense such as
possession of alcohol, normally the first thing done by the assigned Juvenile
Detective is to contact a parent or guardian to inform them as to who is in
custody, the circumstances surrounding the arrest, and a time frame of when the
child will be released.
During the course of a status offense arrest, the
youth is held in the Juvenile Office in the station in a non-secure area, not a
locked cell or holding room. The youth is allowed to make as many calls as he
or she wants as long as the calls are not disruptive to processing operations
or any ongoing follow-ups taking place in the office. Usually, youths are
allowed to keep their property, including cell phones on their person.
Serious criminal offenses are generally handled a little differently. The
parent/guardian of the youth is immediately contacted and advised of the
offense and requested to come to the station to sit in on an interview with the
child. In serious criminal offenses, the youth is detained in a secure holding
room in the Juvenile Bureau away from any adult offenders. Their property is
removed from their person and held until the completion of the arrest. Serious
criminal offenders are also allowed to make phone calls and are usually
encouraged to do so if there is difficulty locating a parent.”
Please keep your questions coming. Send them to Commander Joe Dugan and we’ll do our best to get you the answers. If you put In The Squad Room in the subject line, they’ll find their way to me.
 The ON-GOING GUN BUYBACK
PROGRAM allows Evanston residents to turn in an operational firearm to
police at any time in exchange for $100. Residents can utilize this
service by calling 311 or the Evanston Police Department
non-emergency line at 847-866-5000. A police officer will pick up the unwanted
firearm at the resident's address and present the resident with a voucher that
can be exchanged for $100 at the city collector’s office located in the Morton
Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave.
Firearms should not be brought to
the police department, unless prior approval has been granted from a supervisor at the police department. An officer will call the resident after a request is
made for the officer to come to a person's residence and retrieve the firearm.
|
 What would you like to know about what the Evanston Police Department is doing to fight crime? Let us know if you have specific questions or concerns about issues in your neighborhood. Submissions are always welcome at police@cityofevanston.org or by calling the community strategies bureau at (847) 866-5019.
If you’d like to receive Evanston’s Daily Crime Report by email, you can subscribe here or view the Monthly Crime Statistics that are reported on a yearly basis to the FBI by clicking here.
|
 The Fall 12-week Citizen Police Academy class began September 2, 2015. If you’d like to learn more about the Evanston Police Department, take an active role in Community Oriented Policing and join the ranks of 900 graduates since 1995, please visit the Citizen Police Academy webpage. Enrollment deadline for the Fall 2015 class has ended. There is no cost to anyone who lives or works in Evanston.
|
The
weekly deployment report is an informational bulletin prepared by a community
member that keeps citizens informed about what police do on a weekly basis.
Information contained in this report is not to be considered as a media/press
release. Any information considered by a media source from this bulletin needs
to be verified by an official from the department. This can be done by
contacting the media line at 847-866-5026.
| 
