On Aug. 31 around 6:30 p.m., police were informed of a car traveling in Forest Park that was stolen from Calumet City earlier that day. When police tried to pull the car over, it fled and ran two red lights. Police reported that the car was traveling over 100 miles per hour in a 55 mile-per-hour zone. At Des Plaines and Harrison, police said the car hit the driver’s side of another, spinning and coming to a stop before driving the car into the front of a squad car. Three men got out of the car and started fleeing on foot, and an officer performed an emergency takedown at Harrison and Lathrop on the driver, who had a gun with a defaced serial number on him. Meanwhile, police requested helicopter assistance to find the other two offenders. River Forest and Oak Park police showed up, along with Illinois State Police. A state police officer saw the offenders walking on the Circle Avenue bridge, and both juveniles were placed in custody. They were charged with criminal trespass to a vehicle, resisting officers, and one was charged with possession of burglary tools. The driver was charged with aggravated battery, resisting an officer, motor vehicle theft, an expired driver’s license, failure to reduce speed, speeding, a traffic signal violation, aggravated unlawful use of weapon and an aggravated attempt to elude officers.
DUI
While on patrol Aug. 23, police were dispatched to the 8300 block of Roosevelt Road around 8:30 p.m. for a car crash. Dispatch said that the offending vehicle, a white van, drove off and a caller reported parked in a nearby alleyway. Police found the van at 2100 S. 1st Ave. in Maywood, along with a man and woman near the vehicle, who said they’d just dropped off a friend and were returning home. The man walked away from the scene and hid in nearby bushes, so police ordered him out at gunpoint and put him in handcuffs. Police reported that the man smelled of alcohol and that his eyes were glassy and bloodshot, but he refused field sobriety tests and a breath sample. At the police station, he told police that he was driving the van after consuming three or four beers a few hours earlier but never made contact with another car. He was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, leaving the scene of a property damage accident, operating an uninsured vehicle, and violating state vehicle code.
Just after midnight on Aug. 28, police saw a car abruptly stop on the 7300 block of Adams Street before the driver rolled down his window and waved the police car over. Police pulled alongside his car, and he told them he was just involved in a verbal altercation with someone at Mugsy’s Tavern and decided to leave to avoid further conflict. Police reported that the man had slurred speech and trouble finishing his sentences. Police asked him out of the car and reported that he smelled of alcohol, was swaying and showed clues of impairment during field sobriety tests. In his car, they found an empty shot bottle and partially drank Mike’s Hard Lemonade. He was taken to the police department and charged with a DUI, expired registration, illegal parking, and illegal transportation of alcohol.
Police responded to the intersection of Randolph Street and Harlem Avenue just before 11 p.m. on Aug. 29 for a crash. Police reported that the driver of the offending vehicle was standing outside his car and having trouble balancing. They added that the man smelled of alcohol, had glassy eyes, and appeared to be disassociated from his actions that caused the crash. Police found an empty alcohol bottle behind the driver’s seat. At the police station, the man was charged with a DUI, illegal transportation of alcohol, operating an uninsured car, and operating an uninsured car with suspended registration.
Aggravated battery
Police responded to the CTA Blue Line station on Aug. 24 for a battery. The CTA railcar operator told police that he was checking cars at 8 p.m. when he was unexpectedly hit in the face. He said that he fell to the ground and radioed for assistance, and police reported that he was bleeding from his mouth. The CTA supervisor, who police said had a cut on his cheek, said he came to help and was immediately hit in the face. A third man also reported being hit by the man. Both CTA employees requested an ambulance and were taken to Rush Oak Park Hospital. The offender was charged with two counts of aggravated battery and one count of battery.
Warrant
Police were dispatched to the CTA Blue Line station on Aug. 24 just before 11 a.m. for reports of two subjects throwing bricks at each other. The victim told police that a man asked for a lighter and, when he said he didn’t have one, tried to hit him and threw his cell phone, breaking it. A witness who works for the CTA said the men talked for a second before a verbal argument broke out. Then one man punched and missed the other before they both started punching each other. They separated and the man threw the other’s cell phone back at him, damaging it. The witness said the cell phone’s owner then picked up a piece of concrete and chased the man around with it before throwing it and hitting the CTA station windows, though there was no damage. The man whose phone broke at first said he wanted to sign complaints against the other but later changed his mind. Police discovered the man who started the fight to have a warrant out of Indianapolis, Indiana for methamphetamine possession, and he was charged with the out-of-state warrant.
Criminal defacement of property
Police responded to 500 Circle Ave. on Aug. 25, where a complainant said sidewalk was poured around 6 p.m. and, about an hour later, someone drew “Trump” and a peace sign into the wet concrete. No one has yet been charged.
Missing person
On Aug. 28, police were dispatched to Riveredge Hospital for a runaway patient who is a registered violent sex offender. According to police, the man had escaped multiple times and was last seen wearing a red durag, red tee shirt and blue jeans.
Fire
Police arrived at the 7400 block of Randolph Street around 3 a.m. for an electrical fire, which reportedly had diminished but there was still smoke. Forest Park, River Forest and Oak Park fire departments were also dispatched to the scene. The tenant of the smoking unit told police she was getting dressed when the exhaust vent in the bathroom started sparking and caught fire. She called 911 and evacuated her family.
These items were obtained from Forest Park Police Department reports dated Aug. 22 through Aug. 31 and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in these reports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated. We report the race of a suspect only when a serious crime has been committed, the suspect is still at large, and police have provided us with a detailed physical description of the suspect as they seek the public’s help in making an arrest.