Cellphone camera use sparks dispute at polling place

A 27-year-old man acting as an election judge at Garfield School, 543 Hannah Ave., on Election Day, Nov. 8, called police at about 10:20 a.m. after a disturbance involving a 27-year-old Forest Park woman.

According to the police report, the judge was checking in voters when he observed the woman recording him on her cellphone. The judge reportedly recognized the woman from high school, but he could not remember.

When the judge confronted the woman about the use of her cellphone camera in the polling place, the two began to exchange words.

When the judge pulled out his cellphone to record the woman, she allegedly slapped the cellphone out of his hand and left the polling place.

The election judge told police he wanted to pursue charges against the woman, but it’s unclear whether police were able to make contact with her.

BB damage

Someone with a BB gun reportedly damaged glass at a school, a business and a bus shelter on Roosevelt Road in Forest Park during the overnight hours of Nov. 9-10.

The security manager at Proviso Math and Science Academy, 8601 Roosevelt Road, called to report that a 15-by-5-foot plate-glass window was shattered and that a large BB hole remained visible. Police recovered a large ball bearing on the ground outside the window. School officials estimated it would cost $3,000 to repair.

A manager at Hawk Dodge/Jeep, 7919 Roosevelt Road, reported that a 6-by-6-foot window was broken by a BB or other projectile at that business. The object went through the window and interior blinds and damaged a wall inside. The projectile couldn’t be located.

While responding to the car dealership, a police officer reported that two glass panels at the Pace bus shelter at 8311 Roosevelt Road were shattered.

Motor vehicle theft

Forest Park police responded to the 1200 block of Marengo Avenue on the morning of Nov. 7 after a resident called to report that her parents’ blue 1999 Toyota Corolla sedan, which was parked in the rear of the property, had been stolen during the overnight hours.

Groped on the el

Forest Park police charged a 62-year-old Chicago man with battery after a 26-year-old woman called to complain that he had inappropriately touched her while they were on the Blue Line train as it was pulling into the Desplaines Avenue terminal on Nov. 7 about 5 p.m.

According to the victim, the offender rubbed his hands on her buttocks while leaning into her to smell her hair. The victim immediately called police, who took the man into custody before the train could pull back out of the station.

Vehicle break-ins

The manager at Elite Staffing, 1229 Harlem Ave., called police on the morning of Nov. 7 to report that during the overnight hours someone broke out the driver’s side windows of two transport buses and removed DVD players with 17-inch screens that were mounted to the roofs of each vehicle.

Nothing else was taken from the vehicles.

A 32-year-old man called police on Nov. 8 to complain that someone had tried to gain access to his 2013 Chrysler 300, which was parked in the U.S. Postal Service Bulk Mail Center north lot, 7500 Roosevelt Road, by popping the driver’s side door lock. The offender only succeeded in breaking off the door handle, police said, and did not gain entry.

Also on Nov. 8, a 53-year-old man called police to report that someone had attempted to pry the driver’s side door handle from his 2012 Chevy Impala, which was parked in the U.S. Postal Service Bulk Mail Center north lot, 7500 Roosevelt Road.

Police responded to the 1200 block of Marengo Avenue on the morning of Nov. 11 after a resident called to report that, during the overnight hours, someone had broken out the rear passenger window of her vehicle and stole a black gym bag.

Burglary

Police responded to Walmart, 1300 Desplaines Ave., on Nov. 12 after the store manager called to report that, overnight, someone cut the lock off a trailer parked on the west side of the building and removed 60 boxes of layaway merchandise.

A 27-year-old man called police on Nov. 9 to report that two Trek road bikes were stolen from the underground parking garage of a building in the 7500 block of Randolph St.

The victim said both bikes, valued at $3,000 and $1,100, were locked to the bike rack and had last been seen there on Nov. 6. The garage area is kept locked and is accessible only to those with keys and a keypad code, according to police.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, Nov. 6-13, 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 Bob Uphues