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Weekly Deployment Meeting Highlights

In the Squad Room - Open Sesame

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. 

This Week's Highlights

Three Evanston/Rogers Park ROMEOs (Retired Old Men Eating Out) having a cup of coffee with Sgt. Faison

Now, after five years of being just about the only civilian in the squad room, I am no longer alone. This week, a longtime Evanston resident and friend of the EPD audited the meeting. It’s an example of Chief Cook’s mission to make the police department more accessible and transparent to the community. Deputy City Manager Kimberly Richardson was also in attendance. 

Another mandate of the Chief’s is heightening the visibility of cops – across all departments and bureaus – in and around town. Community policing, once the purview of the 13 person Problem Solving Team, has been elevated to the top priority of all uniformed officers. (On that note, except for undercover cops, you’ll see more police in uniform).

Maybe that’s why there was, once again, so little crime to report this week. Detective Tortorello noted a couple of residential burglaries, one commercial burglary, the usual motor vehicle burglaries of six unlocked cars and a shots fired call that failed to yield any evidence.

Now the rest of the news. 

Weekly Crime Map

Click to enlarge

Deployment Meeting – February 27, 2019 

Discussed at the meeting:

• Sergio Ramos, arrested on 2/21 for DUI, subsequently attacked a hospital employee and grabbed an additional charge for battery.
• On 2/21, cops, in a routine patrol in the 2100 block of Warren, discovered a vehicle with its trunk open. Further investigation revealed that five other vehicles on the block had been ransacked. Detectives are reviewing video from a resident’s security camera.
• A long term investigation by the Special Operations Group resulted in the arrest of Roxanne Northam. She was found in possession of 300 methadone tablets. (A 50 mg methadone pill can sell for $50 on the street.)
• On 2/21, Dwayne Johnson was stopped in the 2400 block of Main Street. A search of his vehicle revealed an SKS rifle and a loaded firearm. Johnson held an valid FOID card. He was changed with Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon for not having a Concealed Carry permit.
• Homeless persons have been congregating overnight in a garage located on the corner of Benson and Davis. Patrol cops are attempting to direct them to area shelters.
• A sushi restaurant was burglarized on 2/19.  It appears that a back door was unlocked.  The crooks made off with two tablet devices.
• There’s a theory that while cold weather tends to decrease crimes like robbery, burglary and theft, it increases incidents of domestic battery. This week, there were six reported cases of domestic abuse. (According to most studies, 70% of domestic abuse cases are unreported.)
• Chief Cook reported that a plan to upgrade Evanston’s security cameras to HD is underway.
• Assistant Communications Coordinator Kuempel reported just two Text-a-Tips during the period. One was a complaint about a panhandler and the other related to a disturbance on Emerson. Patrol cops investigated.
• An additional offender in the Operation Snap Attack Investigation, Kenneth Campbell, was located and arrested in El Paso, Texas by local police.
• Between 2/19 and 2/20, two residences were burglarized in the 400 block of Elmwood and the 700 block of Austin. The Elmwood residence, where a smart watch and gaming accessories were taken, was entered by unknown means.  A door was forced at the apartment on Austin.  There, a photo ID was reported missing.
• Maybe related: Neighbors in the 2100 block of Madison have been on the lookout for an individual, caught on one resident’s security camera, lurking through backyards and in between houses late at night. Detectives are investigating and additional patrols have been deployed in the area.
• Traffic cops have increased their presence at the intersection of Ridge and Grove in an effort to reduce the crashes associated with illegal turns there. Williams also noted that planning for traffic support with the City of Evanston is underway for this year’s special events. According to him it looks like the line-up will be pretty similar to years past.
• They were there: Members of the PST were at these sessions: OGA, Star and of course, Coffee with a Cop (picture above). They also attended these meetings: 9^th Ward, ETown Live, the Infant Welfare Society Fatherhood Initiative and Project Bond.   They continue to deploy nightly patrols on Howard Street and in the 5^th

The Week Ahead         

• An active shooter training exercise, involving the EPD and EFD, is scheduled for 11 AM on 3/2 at Lincolnwood School.
• Here’s what’s on PST’s agenda: OGA, Project Bridge, Police Explorers meetings and the first session of the spring Citizen Police Academy. They also have a meeting scheduled at NU Athletics to discuss opportunities for OGA participants.
• The Armored Car remains in hibernation.

Inquiring Minds

Inquiring Minds: The subject of police suicides has been in the news recently. Have there been any suicides within the ranks for the EPD? How does the department address mental health issues?

Police suicide...the tip of a mental health iceberg

I wondered the same thing, especially since the Chicago Police Department has seen a spike in these deaths – five of them in the last six months. Executive Officer/Commander Glew (he’s also my Editor) helped me round up a few post-meeting participants to see if anyone could remember any cop suicides here.  There was one, someone thought, in the 1970s.

While studies put the suicide rate for police officers at around 23 per 100,000 officers, the rate of the general population is estimated at 14 suicides per 100,000 people, based on Centers for Disease Control figures.  Law enforcement officers, then, are 1.5 times more likely to commit suicide than the general population.

There’s a lot of speculation about why law enforcement officer suicides are higher than others, including alcoholism, depression and divorce. But those issues may only be symptoms of a bigger problem: post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The truth is that a typical law enforcement career places individuals at serious risk for PTSD. Between the long hours, the fatigue, the potential health issues and trauma, it’s easy to see how PTSD may contribute to higher suicide rates among officers.  Figures from one study found that roughly 35% of police officers experience PTSD, compared to 6.8% for the general population.

Prevention is the cure and that’s probably why the EPD hasn’t seen what other law enforcement agencies have. There are resources and a process in place for officers in need of confidential counseling and support services. These cover a wide spectrum and include any mix of the department’s Peer Support Program, services from the EPD Clergy Team, and of course, the mental health benefits offered through the EPD’s medical insurance program.

How many officers or retirees have taken advantage of these tools is unknowable. The information is completely confidential.

A new law, enacted last summer, states that a FOID card is not a condition of employment for police officers. Come again? What this really means is that if an officer is undergoing mental health treatment and his/her FOID card has been temporarily suspended, he or she cannot be fired.  This may encourage more cops to seek treatment when it’s needed.

We need more questions...from you...the COMMUNITY! Email them to Commander Glew and we’ll do our best to provide the answers. If you put In The Squad Room in the subject line, they’ll find their way to me.

Gun Buyback Program

The Ongoing 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.

Crime Reports

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.   Subscribe to Evanston’s Daily Crime Report by email or view the Monthly Crime Statistics that are reported on a yearly basis to the FBI.

Citizen Police Academy

If you would like to learn more about the Evanston Police Department, take an active role in community-oriented policing, and join the ranks of over 900 graduates since 1995, please visit the Citizen Police Academy webpage.   There is no cost to anyone who lives or works in Evanston. Getting to know your police force is essential in reducing crime, building trust in the community and serving the needs of the community.

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.