Weekly Deployment Meeting Highlights
In the Squad Room - Assault on Howard Street
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
Looking sharp in stilettos - Det. Spells, a Sharped Dressed Man, and others Walk a Mile in Her Shoes
Thanks to responding EPD and CPD officers and a description provided by a witness, Kevin Jones was quickly apprehended following the attack of a 23-year old victim in the 700 block of Howard around 2:50 PM on 9/28. The victim, with no known connection to Jones, was walking west on Howard when Jones, without provocation, repeatedly struck him in the head with a brick.
EFD firefighters called to the scene rendered aid and transported the victim to Presence St. Francis Hospital where he is in critical but stable condition. Jones was arrested and charged with Attempted Murder. He is currently being held, without bond, in Cook County Jail.
Crime Analyst Ring and Detective Tortorello noted these property crimes during the week: 5 motor vehicle burglaries (four of them unlocked), 3 residential burglaries and a single commercial burglary. Five bicycles were reported stolen, all but one locked to bike racks or secured in apartment/condo common areas.
Now the rest of the news.
Weekly Crime Map
Click to enlarge
Deployment Meeting – October 02, 2019
Discussed at the meeting:
- A convenience store was burglarized not once, but twice, during the deployment period. On 9/28, glass in the front door was broken to gain entry when two individuals were videotaped stealing tobacco products. A suspect was stopped and identified but released pending further investigation. On 10/2, history repeated itself with a second break-in. Investigators believe that the same offenders are responsible for both crimes. Fingerprints and DNA have been collected from the scene.
- Video surveillance on Howard Street: In the wake of last week’s random attack, the EPD is researching options and costs associated with increasing the bandwidth of the City’s security camera network in an effort to increase the detail of video images.
- Assistant Communications Coordinator Curt Kuempel said there were three Text-a-Tips last week: 1) a reckless Moped driver on Ridge, 2) teens fighting at Darrow and Ridge and 3) panhandling near the intersection of Harrison and Hastings. Cops were deployed to all three locations.
- Last week, a car stolen out of Schaumburg was located near Dempster and Dodge. The suspected car thieves were juveniles, 11 and 15 years old. No one was injured.
- It was a rainy Bike the Ridge on 9/29, but heartening to see a wide spectrum of Evanston residents (and many families with small children) taking advantage of the once-a-year opportunity to cycle Ridge from Howard to Church. Chief Cook was there, too. Thanks to members of the CPAAA (Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association) for registering bikes and the EPFF (Evanston Police and Fire Foundation) for handing out complimentary bike lights.
- Congratulations to the stouthearted, high-heeled men and women, including EPD officers, who participated in the 6th Annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event sponsored by Northwest CASA on 9/28. (See photo) The fundraiser supports the organization’s outreach services to victims of sexual violence.
- There were three residential burglaries. Two single-family residences were hit in the 1400 block of Seward. A wallet and its contents were reported missing when burglars made entry through a cut window screen on 9/25. The next day, crooks were unsuccessful in gaining entry through a window of a home on the same block. Also, on 9/26, power and hand tools were taken when burglars entered an unlocked residential garage in the 1900 block of Brown.
- Victim Services staff reported 30 new cases last week; half of them involved domestic situations.
- PST (Problem Solving Team) officers walked the talk at the Walk a Mile in her Shoes event, led tabletop exercises at Northminster Church and Park School, monitored the Farmers Market and FAAM (Fellowship of African American Men) basketball. They conducted a safety talk at Haven Middle School, led CPA (Citizen Police Academy) and Police Explorers sessions, conducted a planning meeting for active shooter training at Mather Homes and attended a CPAAA (Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association) board meeting. They continue to monitor the downtown area to address homeless issues and bikes on sidewalks. Nine warnings were issued to cyclists last week.
The Week Ahead
- Look for members of the PST at the Foster Senior Club meeting, the Community Active Shooter training at the Civic Center on Saturday and the Farmers Market. They’ll also conduct tabletop sessions at Kingsley and Haven schools and monitor FAAM basketball. They continue to lead CPA (Citizen Police Academy) and Police Explorers meetings.
- On the docket: According to Sgt. Gil Levy in-service trainings will be scheduled this fall to address protocols for the legalization of recreational marijuana. (See more information on this new law and law enforcement concerns in Inquiring Minds.)
- Yom Kippur (the Jewish Day of Atonement) on 10/9 – means that extra patrols will be deployed at the area’s synagogoes and community from sundown on 10/8 to sundown on 10/9.
Inquiring Minds
Inquiring Minds: The Legalization of Recreational Marijuana
Part 2: Considerations Surrounding the New Law
The primary concern most police departments mention is an anticipated increase in motorists driving while high. They cite studies in states that legalized marijuana, showing significant increases in the number of traffic accidents in which participants tested positive for cannabis. One issue is that there is no widely accepted measure for marijuana impairment as there is with alcohol, and no widely accepted breath analyzer for marijuana. One Illinois police chief is not concerned. “What we’re looking for is what we called divided attention tasks,” he said. “How well you can walk, follow directions, beyond just smell of alcohol and cannabis. The same test we do for alcohol impairment are the same we do for cannabis.”
Another concern is the law’s provision to let people grow up to five plants at home, which could make it difficult for police to differentiate between a legal, grow for personal use and an illegal grow of more than five plants with intent to sell – not easy to enforce. Cops here - or anywhere - are not going to have the time to surveil suburban backyards and count plants.
Proponents believe that the revenue generated by legal weed sales ($170 million for licensing fees in 2020, according to Governor Pritzker’s projections) will provide more money to train police officers as drug recognition experts to arrest drugged drivers, will allow for research to develop breath analysis for marijuana, and to determine levels of impairment. Legalization, according to some, will provide money for a public education campaign to discourage getting high and driving, and caution use by youth, pregnant women and breast-feeding mothers.
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Individuals with convictions involving 30 grams of marijuana or less will have their criminal records referred to the state’s Prisoner Review Board as long as those convictions weren’t associated with a violent crime. If the governor grants the pardon, the Illinois attorney general will seek expungement. David Franco, a Chicago police officer and a member of Law Enforcement Action Partnership, supports legalization as a way to 1) avoid incarcerating people for low-level offenses, and 2) concentrate on tamping down violent crimes. “What I feel is important is the impact (marijuana convictions) have had ruining people’s lives,” he said. “Once you’re a convicted felon, you can’t get a student loan or a job. Removing that is the most important thing. We’re making people’s lives whole again.”
Next week, we’ll talk to Compliance Officer/Sgt Gil Levy about specific initiatives that the EPD is taking to prepare for the new law. What we know right now: There will be rules, fines and citations. Recreational weed sales will be limited to adults aged 21 and older. DUI will be enforced. And no, you can’t toke up in public while you’re enjoying the lakefront or walking your pooch.
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.
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Crime Reports
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.
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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.
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