Friday, August 21, 2020 | View in browser
Weekly Deployment Meeting Highlights
Every week, Linda Hansen attends the Evanston Police Department’s Deployment Meetings, takes notes on the topics discussed and writes about other police-related matters of interest to the people who work and live in Evanston.
The Secret Life of a Parking Garage
Not really recommended for lodging or practicing skateboarding moves
For the second or maybe it was the third week in a row, the Sherman Plaza Parking Garage was a topic of conversation. Not only has it provided shelter for some of the city’s unhoused individuals, it has become a proving ground for Evanston’s more adventurous youth. Lately, the EPD has been receiving reports of rogue skateboarders and cyclists commandeering the ramps and concrete surfaces. So, in addition to their usual monitoring activities (they do this all year, by the way), they will be posting additional signage, and educating the public. They will continue their efforts to redirect transients to area shelters, now scarce due to the pandemic.
It was a busy week for burglars. Crime Analyst Marianne Ring noted four residential burglaries (but two were attempts), nine vehicles burglaries, nine bike thefts and two car thefts. She mentioned that car break-ins are sometimes related to auto thefts; burglars look for open car doors, then car keys or fobs, many of which are left in the vehicle. Details follow.
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If there are topics of interest to you, please send them our way.
Deployment Meeting – August 19, 2020
- This is directed to anyone who carries a purse: keep it secure when you're in a restaurant or outdoor café. Thieves are among us. One diner discovered this when she was enjoying a meal at a downtown restaurant on 8/17.
- On 8/16 at 3:33 PM, a 13 year old victim was finishing up a basketball game at Baker Park when an unknown juvenile asked to borrow his bicycle. When the victim refused, the offender pushed him off the bicycle and rode away with it. The victim did not sustain injuries but said that the robber was accompanied by 11 other juveniles, possibly from Chicago.
- Around 3:45 PM on 8/16, police responded to the 1900 block of Wesley for a report of shots fired. The victim was driving with his girlfriend when the offender fired several rounds at their vehicle. Seven shell casings were recovered.
- Between 8/13 and 8/19, about half of the week’s bike thefts were from racks in public spaces or parks. The rest were unsecured.
- Around 1:30 AM on 8/15, officers observed a Subaru driving without any rear lights and attempted to stop the vehicle near Church and Sherman. The car drove northbound on Sherman against the flow of traffic, when four black male subjects jumped out of the car and fled. The driverless vehicle continued down the roadway, striking a curb and post before continuing into the intersection of Sherman and Elgin. EPD Officer L. Cook, fearing for a pedestrian in the vicinity, used the squad’s push bar to stop the vehicle. All 4 juvenile subjects were apprehended. The vehicle had been stolen from the Leonard and Wesley area.
- On 8/15 at 8:30 PM, officers responded to the Walgreens parking lot in the 600 block of Chicago for a report of a fight in progress. They located a victim, with blood on his hands, shirt, face and head. The victim couldn’t recall what had happened. A witness was able to capture video of the incident and gave it to the police department.
- The week’s 9 motor vehicle burglaries took place mostly on the south end of Evanston. Every one of these vehicles was unlocked. Either nothing was reported missing or pocket change was taken; however, in two cases, purses, wallets and backpacks were removed.
- Residential burglaries in the 1600 block of Cleveland, the 200 block of Dodge, the 900 block of Madison and the 100 block of Garnett Place: Two entered through unsecured doors, the remaining two through windows (though one was a fail). Three happened in the overnight hours; one was in the afternoon.
- Keys left in the car? Between 8/13 and 8/14, a 2014 Jeep Cherokee was stolen from the 2200 block of Grant. A set of keys may have been left inside the vehicle. On 8/15, police took a report of a 2008 Mercedes stolen off the street in the 2400 block of Lincoln. It isn’t known if the keys were left inside the vehicle.
- High visibility patrols continue in the city’s hotspots – along Howard Street and the Fifth Ward.
- There were three arrests for domestic battery last week.
The Week Ahead
- The CPRC (Citizen Police Review Commission) will have its first official meeting on 9/2. The nine-member group, representing a broad spectrum of the community, exists to add a citizen perspective to the evaluation of citizen complaints about law enforcement. The Commission's members will continue their training curriculum on 8/22 at the Skokie Police Department. More information about the CPRC is here.
- NU students return on 8/24 for the fall semester; a mix of in-person and remote classes. As we all know by now, the Big Ten has cancelled the fall football season, with hopes to resume in the spring.
- IDOT’s Labor Day “Click it or Ticket” traffic campaign starts on 8/22 and runs through 9/7.
This week, we shift our focus from reader questions and statistics to meeting one of the newest officers in the EPD. Officer Theodore “TJ” Floros was on the other end of the phone for a call at 7 AM, a full hour after his 12-hour shift began.
A native of the Bridgeport neighborhood in Chicago, Officer Floros joined the EPD this March, after serving in the UIC (University of Illinois at Chicago) and South Elgin police forces. Before that, he earned a Criminal Justice degree and spent three years as Lance Corporal in the US Marine Corps – exactly the kind of credentials that law enforcement agencies look for. Even so, he told me, “There’s a lot of competition out there.” (Note: Becoming a police officer in the first place is a grueling process that typically involves submitting multiple applications to law enforcement agencies, along with passing a series of written physical, psychological and medical tests. All agencies perform background checks and most require a polygraph exam.)
Did he always want to be a cop? Yes, he said, and here’s why: “The job is constantly changing. It’s always different – every single call, every single day is different. It’s never mundane or boring and like the military, there’s the attraction of being part of something that’s bigger than myself.”
Then, there was the elephant in the room. I wanted to know how he stays focused and positive in the face of global protests. “You have to look at the bigger picture. Things will change and if the results are good for society and people are helped, that’s a better thing. The goal of the police department is to help people.”
He reflected on what inspires him: “I like the small experiences. If I have one positive interaction a day that may change a person’s perspective on law enforcement and shows that we’re not robots, that we’re real people, that’s a good thing. There are people I’ve arrested that shook my hand at the end of day when I took them to County, thanking me for treating them like a human being.
We’re all human. We’ve all made mistakes and lived life.” Amen to that.
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.
Property Recovered in Evanston
Think your property may have been recovered by the Evanston PD? Click here to start your search. Be sure to check out the third party service that displays items found within the last 21 days. Here's the link.
 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. Take a look at the Evanston Police Department Dashboard.
 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.
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