Friday, March 19, 2021 |   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.

Chief Demitrous Cook at the scene of the deadly 3/12 shooting on Hovland. Photo credit: Bob Seidenberg, Evanston Round Table

The neighborhood – and the community as a whole – is reeling from the 3/12 homicides that occurred in the 1800 block of Hovland at 11:47 AM.

Officers responding to a shots fired call discovered three gunshot victims. Two were found unresponsive on the porch and a third victim was found inside bleeding from gunshot wounds. One of the EPD officers on the scene applied a tourniquet to stop the man’s bleeding. All three victims were taken to Evanston Hospital, where Demarcus Cokley, 20, and Jose Sanchez Guerrero, 21, were pronounced dead. The surviving victim, who is 18 years old, received treatment.

NORTAF (The North Regional Major Crimes Task Force) has taken over the investigation, with EPD detectives assisting. In the meantime, Victim Services advocates have been reaching out to the victims’ families and neighbors to provide counseling services.

There are no suspects in custody at this time. If you believe you may have information about this investigation, contact the Evanston Police Detective Bureau at 847-866-5040 or Text-A-Tip to CRIMES (274637) and then start your message with EPDTIP.  More on text-a-tips below.  

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Deployment Meeting – March 17, 2021

• Just before 3 PM on 3/16, the EPD was notified that a person had been struck by an out-of-service Metra UP-N train near the Davis Street station. The man was transported to Evanston Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Metra and EPD investigators do not suspect foul play.
• South of Howard: The CPD reported multiple shots fired calls on 3/15 in the 7700 block of Paulina. Shell casings were recovered from the scene.
• On 3/14, an opportunistic car thief drove away in a 2016 Nissan, parked with the engine running, in the 2100 block of Brummel.
• A 3/13 'Northwestern University Community Not Cops’ protest resulted in multiple incidents of graffiti at various locations. 
• A shots fired call was received by the EPD near Darrow and Foster around 9 PM on 3/13. The area was checked with negative results.
• Catalytic converters thefts were reported between 3/6 and 3/11 from a 2009 Toyota in the 400 block of Sheridan and a 2010 Honda on 3/15 in the 500 block of Elmwood. 
• Package thieves continue to strike common areas of apartment and condo buildings. There were three last week, in the 200 block of Asbury, the 800 block of Noyes and the 200 block of Ridge.
• Community Strategies (PST – the Problem Solving Team) has added another task force meeting to its agenda: in addition to Homelessness and Problem Properties, a Hoarding Task Force has been added to the list. They were also present at the ETHS Career Fair and led a Citizen Police Academy (CPA) class. They continue to deal with quality-of-life issues in the city’s hotspots along with problems related to individuals experiencing homelessness.
• Here are Traffic Bureau results from its St. Patrick’s Day safety campaign. There were a total of 101 citations, including 36 for seat belts, 22 for speeding, 14 for cell phones, 13 for no-insurance, 2 suspended driver arrests and 14 miscellaneous tickets. The good news: no DUIs.

The Week Ahead

• Community Strategies officers will assist at the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Fair on Saturday, 3/20. Also, good news for residents and commuters in the Main/Chicago area: more security cameras are planned.
• Early voting for local elections begins on 3/22. Election Day is 4/6.
• Dang: The Trustees of the Evanston Fourth of July Association voted to cancel the fun run, parade, concert band performance and lakefront fireworks planned for July 4, 2021 based on COVID-19 concerns.

Inquiring Minds: Text-a-tip Reminder

The EPD wants to remind the community they can use Text-A-Tip. Residents may feel hesitant or fearful to report crime information and tips to the police. This service allows citizens to easily relay crime information to the police while remaining anonymous. Text-A-Tip uses a modern, popular, and common method of communication - texting - and provides another important and valuable opportunity for citizens to partner with police in solving crime.                  

For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, Text-A-Tip is an independent, third-party program that operates separately from Evanston’s 9-1-1 system. Text-A-Tip allows citizens to anonymously submit information about criminal activity such as:

• information that assists in crime prevention
• information about ongoing investigations
• narcotics tips
• ongoing nuisance problems.

Here’s how it works:

1. Enter the number “274637” (which spells out the word CRIMES) in the phone number line.
2. Start your message with "EPDTIP" (to ensure the tip is routed to the proper police department) and enter your tip with as much detail as possible.
3. Once you send your tip via text, the information is received by a service provider that will assign you a random system-generated “alias” to ensure your anonymity.
4. You will automatically receive a response text providing your alias. Please be aware that the Evanston Police Department will send a response text if more information is needed to process the tip.
5. Your anonymity remains secure because the information is sent to a third party service provider that is independent of the police department. The police department will only know you by your alias.
6. If you don’t wish to participate in two-way communication with the police department, you can text the word STOP to 274637 (CRIMES). Doing so will block the EPD from responding.

Note: Text-A-Tip should not be used for emergency situations requiring immediate police response. Please call 9-1-1 for emergencies and in-progress situations. If you have a general inquiry, need a police report, or are not sure if Text-A-Tip is right for the circumstances, please call the police non-emergency number 847-866-5000. It is staffed 24 hours a day.

For step by step instructions please check out our brief tutorial video.

More information about Text-A-Tip is available on the City's website.

Have a question for us? We’re always looking for reader input and suggestions. And starting right now, you can include questions for the Traffic Bureau. Just send them to Commander Garner and put In The Squad Room in the subject line. We’ll make sure to direct them to the appropriate person for an ITSR response. 

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.