Mid-afternoon scuffle results in arrests
Forest Park police made three arrests in the 900 block of Thomas, May 8 around 1 p.m., after being summoned by a caller who said two men were fighting in the street. According to reports, the block has been the scene of numerous calls because of loiterers around an apartment building on the block. The men, ages 19 and 20, continued to shout, one yelling into a cellphone, when police approached and asked them to quiet down. One of the men was recognized by an officer for previously being arrested for possession of a handgun.
The men reportedly continued to yell, attracting a crowd who then also began to yell at the police officers. When the men continued to shout, an officer told one man he was under arrest and attempted to put him in handcuffs. The man pulled his arms away to resist being handcuffed but was eventually restrained. Officers attempted to speak to the other man, but a 20-year-old woman from Glen Ellyn repeatedly approached and began to yell at officers. She was told to back off, but she continued to approach and was then told she was under arrest for obstruction.
At that point, she was reportedly placed in an “arm bar” by one officer and pushed against a car for leverage as she was taken into custody. The other man continued to shout and was eventually placed in custody as well, after an officer put him “in a head lock.” At the station, police reportedly recovered a large knife and glass crack pipe in the woman’s purse. The two men were charged with obstructing an officer and the woman was charged with possession of drug equipment.
Woman alleges man pulled a gun
Forest Park police responded to a domestic situation in the 1500 block of Harlem around 4 a.m., May 11, and found a woman who said her boyfriend had pulled a gun on her and cocked it, aiming at her while she was speaking on the phone to her brother. She identified the gun as a black Glock and told officers that when her boyfriend had cocked the gun, a bullet had fallen out on the floor. Berwyn Police located the man who had left the residence, and he was asked if he owned a gun, and where it was kept. Forest Park officers found a holstered gun on a closet shelf and brought it to the station where Berwyn police were bringing the suspect. According to reports, the 37-year-old Forest Park man denied pulling a gun on his girlfriend, but police found that an ammunition magazine meant to hold 12 bullets with one in the chamber had only 11 bullets. The man was charged with aggravated assault and the gun, holster and several magazines were seized for evidence.
Bike stolen
A woman reported her bicycle had been stolen from the CTA Blue Line station at 711 Desplaines Ave. while she was in the city during the day on May 11.
Trying to start a fight at Doc Ryan’s
Police arrested a 25-year-old Romeoville man around 2:15 a.m., May 12, after they were called to Doc Ryan’s tavern, 7432 W. Madison St., to break up a fight. According to reports, the arriving officers observed the man run out the back door of the bar and begin to remove his shirt. They said he ran around the building to the front, pounded on the windows and displayed his middle finger to a group of patrons who were exiting the bar “in an attempt to start a fight,” reports said. Officers reported that the man appeared very intoxicated with bloodshot eyes and slurred speech. When an officer asked for an ID, the man reportedly replied, “Go ahead and run the b—-. I’m clean.” A name check came back clear with a suspended license, reports said. The police asked the man repeatedly to leave, but the man began hurling insults at the officer and reportedly said, “If it wasn’t for that badge and that gun, you’re nothing.” He was handcuffed and arrested for reckless behavior. The manager of Doc Ryan confirmed that the man had tried to start a fight with patrons exiting the bar and that staff had stepped outside to get between the man and the patrons, asking them to walk in the opposite direction down the street, as the man yelled profanities at them. He was charged with a local ordinance violation of reckless conduct.
These items were obtained from the records of the Forest Park Police Department, May 7-12, and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Unless otherwise indicated, anyone named in the report has only been charged with a crime.
