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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.

There's still time to sign up for the Citizen Police Academy Class #53

Supposedly the boost in crime that’s seen in warm weather doesn’t produce the opposite effect in cold climates. However, one look at This Week’s Crime map below gives proof to a belief among Evanstonians that our town really isn’t like anyplace else. One commercial burglary, three car break-ins, a car theft and a package theft. Not even a single catalytic converter theft.

Details, such as they are, follow.

click to enlarge

Deployment Meeting – February 10, 2021

• Hit and run: Around 5 PM on 2/8, there was a three-car accident in the 100 block of Asbury. Suspects in the offending vehicle, a tan 2003 Toyota registered in Wisconsin, fled prior to the arrival of officers.
• Patrick Jenkins was arrested by US Marshals for the 1/20 murder, in a Skokie hotel room, of Evanston resident Dyrek Coleman. Chief Cook pointed out the unacceptable fact that five young Black men have been murdered in Evanston and surrounding areas within a rolling 12-month period.
• Just one package was stolen from the common area of an apartment building in the 2400 block of Prairie.
• Additional patrols have been deployed to the downtown area to suppress retail thefts. Four retail thefts happened on 2/8, with three at the same store. Items stolen included electronics, baby formula and alcohol.
• Police were called to a check cashing store in the 1800 block of Dempster on 2/7 at 1:30 PM for an attempted armed robbery. The employees reported that a subject entered the store, demanded money and claimed to have a gun. Employees retreated to the rear room and called 911. The offender fled. A nearly identical robbery attempt took place in the 24^th District (Rogers Park) the same day.
• In the early morning hours of 2/4, police responded to a robbery call in the 1900 block of Darrow. Two subjects attacked and robbed three victims of several thousand dollars. Detectives are investigating.
• Three vehicles were burglarized during the deployment period. The window of one vehicle, in the 2000 block of Brown, was broken to gain entry. The other two – in the 200 block of Brown and the 100 block of Ridge, were unlocked.
• On 2/4 members of the EPD’s Special Operations Group (SOG) obtained a signed search warrant for the Chicago residence of Elijah Murphy. The search was conducted by CPD and resulted in the recovery of a loaded 9mm Smith & Wesson M&P Shield with a high capacity drum-style magazine. CPD charged Murphy with armed habitual criminal. As a result of the SOG-initiated arrest, Murphy’s bond for an Evanston 4/27/20 attempted murder case was revoked. He is currently in custody at Cook County Jail.
• New recruits Officers Mills and Cram started active duty this week. Look to Inquiring Minds in the next two weeks to learn more about them. This week, it’s Officer Ginchevski.
• Commercial burglary: Between 2/3 and 2/4, subject(s) gained entry to a service station in the 2800 block of Central by breaking a garage window. Computers were reported missing and a 2012 Subaru at the location was also stolen. 
• Community Strategies (PST – the Problem Solving Team) attended various meetings, including the 2nd and 5^th Wards. They continue to monitor and mediate quality-of-life issues relating to individuals and nuisance properties. 

The Week Ahead

• Early voting begins for local elections on 2/8. You can find more information here.  
• The Connections for the Homeless annual benefit Thrive is FREE for all to attend this year! This virtual event taking place on 2/20 at 7PM will have national and local performers, interactive cooking and cocktail demonstrations, and inspired story telling about program participants during this tumultuous year.  Learn more here.

Inquiring Minds: Our Man from Macedonia - Introducing Officer Todor Ginchevski

You may recall from last week’s ITSR that the EPD welcomed Todor Ginchevski to its ranks. This aroused my curiosity. I wanted to know what it feels like to be a young cop considering everything that’s happening these days. I caught up with Officer Ginchevski midweek in his second week of service, after his shift ended as a newly-minted Patrol Officer. 

He grew up in Macedonia (more about that in a minute) where he worked in law enforcement. In July 2017 he moved to the US to start a new life with an American woman who is now his wife. Knowing that a career here tends to require a college degree, he enrolled in college that fall and by 2020, was hired as an Officer by the Lake Forest Police Department.

Evanston, he says, was among his top choices. Turns out that his introduction here was the result of a tour given by one of his college instructors, the EPD’s Detective Amanda Wright. “She organized a tour of headquarters and I really liked what I saw. I liked the pace and the energy here.” He was sworn in on February 1^st. Like all new officers, he’s assigned to the Patrol Bureau.

As for career choices, he said, “I always wanted to be a police officer.”

As for other interests, there’s music. “I play guitar and I play piano. I’m all about music.” And back in Macedonia, martial arts was a passion; but there isn’t a lot of time for that now.

By anyone’s measure, the past year has been difficult, including civilian attitudes about law enforcement. I wondered if that’s difficult for younger officers to process. Here are his thoughts and what keeps him going: “There are something like 700,000 police officers in the United states. The problem is that when one officer fails to honor the badge, civilians think we’re all bad. That makes it hard to earn the public’s trust and convince them that we’re really the good guys, people – men and women – who want to help (and not harm) them. The media tends to focus on the negative, when I know that cops are doing great things for people every day. There’s no easy answer.

I have one goal every day and that’s to help someone. Just one. If I do that, it’s a good day - a perfect day.” 

Today’s Geography Lesson: North Macedonia

• There is no South Macedonia; however, there is a Macedonia province in Greece. The change was made in 2018 to eliminate any confusion.
• Macedonia has a population of just over 2 million people.
• The language is Macedonian. Until the 20^th century, it was only a spoken language.
• Mother Theresa was Macedonian.
• It has more mountains and mountain peaks than any other country.
• Its Ohrid Lake is the oldest and deepest (940 feet) in Europe.

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.

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.

Let us know if you have specific 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 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.