Police were dispatched around 2:30 a.m. on Sept. 15 to help the Oak Park Police Department with an active burglary at Cash America Pawn, 6303 W. North Ave. in Oak Park. Forest Park police were told the suspects drove west on North Avenue in a red sedan, which police located and pursued. The sedan turned south on Thatcher and, while following, Forest Park police hit a deer in River Forest. Police pursued the car until it hit a fence in front of a home on Oak Street in Maywood and five occupants got out and ran. A Forest Park police officer attempted to place one of the suspects in custody, but he hit the officer in the face before running down an alley. Police performed a takedown and took him into custody. Forest Park, Oak Park, River Forest and Maywood police created a perimeter of the area and found two more suspects hiding in bushes. They were also taken into custody. The Forest Park police didn’t charge anyone, as they were assisting other police departments.  

Burglary 

Police were dispatched to the CTA Blue Line Harlem stop just before midnight on Sept. 16 for a delayed burglary report. A CTA employee told police she left her booth from approximately 11:12 to 11:40 a.m. and, when she returned, saw that the door was damaged and her purse was stolen. Police found a sledgehammer next to the door, which was likely used to remove the door handle. A CTA supervisor said she’d sign complaints on behalf of CTA against the offender if they were found. 

Assault  

On Sept. 17, police were dispatched to Harvest 365 on Roosevelt Road for a battery. The complainant, who is a dishwasher at the restaurant, was outside and told police that his manager became angry over a human resources complaint the man filed after an incident where someone urinated in his shoes. Police reported that the man appeared intoxicated, and he said his manager kicked him out of the restaurant, hit him and ripped his shirt. Police spoke with the culinary director at the restaurant, who said the man came to work drunk. He told him to go home and escorted him outside, but the man was angry, pulled out a pocketknife and started waving it. The culinary director said he tried to disarm the man and a struggle ensued. The man, threatening to call the police, got in his car and drove toward the culinary director as he walked back into the restaurant. A witness corroborated the story. The culinary director said he didn’t want to sign complaints against the man, but requested he be trespassed from the property.  

Attempt to locate missing person  

On Sept. 18, a man came to the police department to report his daughter as missing, as he hadn’t seen her since Aug. 19. He said she was staying with her mother but has been couch surfing, and that he usually gets calls and texts from her asking for money but hasn’t lately. He said his daughter sent him and her mother photos of bruises on her arms but didn’t respond when they expressed concern. Police ran the daughter’s name, which was involved in a Sept. 16 Kane County police report of a suspicious person. The Kane County Sheriff’s Office told police that they’d had multiple interactions with the woman and the individuals she was staying with at a home in unincorporated West Dundee. The sheriff’s office made contact with the woman, who said she didn’t need police assistance, and they told her to contact her family.  

Damage to property 

On Sept. 18, police responded to Waldheim Jewish Cemetery. There, the ground superintendent reported that, the day before, she saw three lit candles around a headstone, resulting in burn marks on the stone. There was no structural damage and no details provided on a potential timeframe when the candles could have been lit.  

 
These items were obtained from Forest Park Police Department reports dated Sept. 15 through Sept. 18 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.