Officer injured during police chase
An officer on patrol at 7:23 a.m., April 1 in the 7200 block of Harrison Street reported witnessing a vehicle disobey a stop sign at Harrison Street and Elgin Avenue. The officer said the vehicle pulled over at Jackson Boulevard and Harlem Avenue. When the officer approached the driver and asked for his driver’s license and insurance, the driver, later identified as Parta L. Huff, 27, of Maywood, refused to produce them. The officer told Huff if he did not, he would be arrested. The officer called for additional officers and asked Huff again, who rolled up his window and then drove away, heading eastbound on Jackson Boulevard.
As the officer followed, he witnessed Huff disregard stop signs, traffic control signals and speeding over 50 mph in a 25-mph zone. Police said Huff then struck another vehicle at Oak Park Avenue and Van Buren Street, then reportedly continued to flee from police until his vehicle was disabled and the driver fled on foot.
The officer caught up with Huff and grabbed his arm as he fled but was pushed by Huff and fell to the ground, according to police reports. The officer then used a Taser on the man, who fell to the ground. Police said he continued to resist the officer’s attempts to put him under arrest. The officer had to use his Taser again, but the man continued to resist arrest. The officer said that when other officers arrived, he was finally able to take Huff into custody.
Huff and the officer were taken the hospital for treatment of injuries (Huff reportedly requested to be taken to the hospital). The officer was treated for cuts to his right knee and hand, as well as pain in his shoulder.
Police reported finding nine ecstasy pills in the center console of Huff’s vehicle.
He was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance, felony aggravated fleeing and eluding police, a misdemeanor for obstructing police and a misdemeanor count of leaving the scene of an accident.
Fight over drugs leads to battery charge
A 29-year-old Forest Park man was charged after he was stopped at 5:27 p.m., March 28 in the 700 block of Desplaines Avenue on suspicion of battery. Police found a man on the sidewalk, lying on the ground at the CTA Blue Line station. The suspect was found a short distance away and told police he had been in a fight with the man because of a misunderstanding during a drug deal they were both involved in. Police reported smelling the odor of marijuana on the 29-year-old, who told police he had marijuana in his jacket. Police recovered about 8 grams of marijuana. The other man was taken to the hospital for treatment and told police he was meeting with the other man to buy marijuana from him when the fight began over the price. The other man told police he had sold marijuana in the past but was not at the station to sell marijuana to the man he fought with. He was cited for marijuana possession and charged with one count of battery.
Woman charged with heroin possession
A traffic stop of a passenger not wearing a seat belt at 4:51 p.m., March 31 at First Avenue and Interstate 290 result in a charge of heroin possession. Police stopped the vehicle on I-290 and, after requesting identification from the passenger, learned that the 19-year-old Naperville woman was wanted on a warrant in Will County. When she was placed under arrest, the woman told police she had heroin hidden inside her body. Police searched the woman at the station and located nine bags of a powder substance which tested positive for about 5 grams of heroin. She was charged with possession of a controlled substance.
DUI
A 40-year-old Forest Park woman was stopped at 4:25 p.m., April 3 after police heard a crash and found her behind the wheel of a vehicle that struck another unoccupied vehicle. The woman was taken to the hospital for medical treatment and reportedly admitted to police she had been drinking all day. Police said she refused testing of her blood at the hospital to determine her level of intoxication. She was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, improper lane use, and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.
Home burglarized
A home burglary was reported at 4:25 p.m., March 29 in the 7400 block of Washington Street. The glass of two windows was broken but both were locked when police arrived. The residents were in the process of moving out of the apartment, police said. A DVD player and assorted DVDs were reported missing.
Marijuana possession
A 25-year-old Aurora man was charged at 12:51 p.m., March 29 with possession of marijuana after a traffic stop at Elgin Avenue and Roosevelt Road. Police stopped the man in his vehicle for driving the wrong way down a one-way street. Police reported smelling marijuana coming from the vehicle and later recovered about 10 grams of marijuana and a metal pipe. The man was additionally charged for having drug equipment and cited for the traffic violation.
Electronic equipment stolen at Walmart
A loss prevention agent at Walmart told police at 9:03 p.m., March 29 that a man came into Walmart, 1300 Desplaines Ave., and left with two televisions and two sound bars. Police reviewed video footage, which showed the man place the items in a cart and then leave the store without paying. The suspect entered a vehicle in the parking lot and left the area. The loss was estimated at $1,072.
Police were called back at 9:39 p.m., March 30 after a loss prevention agent said the same man returned that evening and stole a 50-inch television, which he placed in a vehicle, then drove off without paying.
Retail theft
A 49-year-old Forest Park man was charged at 6:49 p.m., April 3 with felony retail theft at Walmart, 1300 Desplaines Ave. According to police, McGee attempted to leave the store without paying for two Apple television products with an estimated total of $398. Felony charges were approved because the estimated loss of the products was greater than $300.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, March 28-April 3, and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Unless otherwise indicated, anybody named in these reports has only been charged with a crime. These cases have not been adjudicated.
—Compiled by Matthew Hendrickson
