Chicago police report details recent violent unrest in The Loop (2023)

Sam Charles, Rosemary Sobol Chicago Tribune

CHICAGO - Winters are relatively mild by Chicago standards.

Still, with temperatures approaching 80 degrees — the hottest weekend in months — hundreds of city children headed to 31st Street Beach at dusk on Friday, April 14, and a teenager was shot in the leg.

Another "teenage takeover" unfolded downtown the next night when two teenage boys were shot near Millennium Park, which may have served as a warning to some.

More than a dozen police reports obtained by The Tribune show how the chaos unfolded as Chicago police struggled to contain hundreds of teenagers and young adults who rushed through traffic, smashed windows and committed violent acts for hours of.

Large outdoor gatherings of young people are nothing new to Chicago, and “teen takeover” events — often organized days in advance on social media — have sometimes turned violent. The rallies have largely angered Chicago's two recent mayors and three police inspectors. Strategies for dealing with youth encounters is one of the criteria used to judge candidates for the position of CPD Inspector.

Cellphone video and news footage of the chaos on April 15 renewed criticism of the city's efforts to curb violent crime.

Meanwhile, the police department has launched an internal investigation into allegations that officers failed to intervene after seeing a couple attacked by a group of teenagers.

Sources have said the unruly gathering was exacerbated by a slow response from CPD leadership, which itself is in a transition period before Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson selects a new police superintendent to replace outgoing Mayor Lori Lightfoot's handpicked chief, David Brown.

The riots come less than a year after the shooting of another teen near The Bean' prompted a curfew and officials promised such suffering would not happen again.

CPD officers arrested a dozen people in the city center two weekends ago. A review of the reports found that police routinely confronted unruly suspects — sometimes young men with guns.

'More physical altercations'

Police reports indicate that at 8:45 p.m., a 19-year-old man and another unidentified person were in a large group on the first block of North Michigan Avenue traveling south from Millennium Park when " Numerous physical altercations".

Reports indicated that the teen and another person started a fight and both were taken into custody.

Less than 45 minutes later, officers monitoring the crowd at 50 East Madison Street suddenly heard gunfire coming from the area. A "10-1" emergency was called via a police dispatch radio, prompting a strong response from nearby officers, a police report also provided a description of the shooter.

Police attempted to stop an 18-year-old man from running into the street and "running into oncoming traffic," causing multiple cars to recklessly enter and exit the road, threatening the safety of several citizens, the report said.

He was arrested at 9.43pm, taken to a police station and charged with reckless behaviour.

not a new challenge

For the past decade, large youth gatherings downtown have become a regular occurrence during the warmer weather months. The CPD has responded to and overseen numerous organized protests and marches in the Loop, particularly in the years since Laquan McDonald's video was released, which sparked outrage across the city.

Fred Waller retired from the CPD as Patrol Chief about three years ago. The unorganized and random nature of teen takeovers makes them especially challenging for police, Waller said.

"The real difference is that most of the time these guys don't have any real leaders they can talk to," Waller said. "When you have a planned protest, you have people you can talk to, who are the organizers or something, and they tell you, 'We want to go here, we want to go there,' and you block the streets. Or You have enough bike cops to go that way, and go that way with them."

"Those 'pop-up' protests, or just kids running around, so to speak, there's no real person you can talk to," he added. "They're all over the place. ... You just go back and forth carry them."

Another shooting near The Bean

Just before 9:30 p.m., there was a shooting in the 200 block of East Randolph. According to an arrest report from the department, CPD officers were stationed nearby to watch for a "large number of youths" blocking traffic.

The situation escalated shortly after a 16-year-old boy from Austin climbed onto an awning above the stairs at the Washington/Wabash CTA train station and refused to come down, police records show. Meanwhile, another round of gunfire erupted at 205 E. Randolph St. as CPD officers struggled to disperse the crowd.

The teenager then allegedly jumped from the awning and was surrounded by CPD officers. While he was in custody, police allegedly found a loaded gun on him, according to an arrest report.

The teen told detectives he didn't speak to his parents, who live in Alabama, and his uncle agreed to pick him up from the police station, where he was charged with reckless conduct and illegal possession of a firearm, the report said.

The arrest of the 16-year-old was apparently unrelated to the shooting that occurred nearby minutes earlier.

A 16-year-old boy and a 17-year-old boy from the city's West Side were standing between two groups of people near the Chicago Cultural Center when an assailant, dressed in all black and wearing a mask, fired several shots, They were shot in the legs and shot, police said.

No one was arrested in that attack.

On the corner of the Chicago Cultural Center, a 15-year-old girl was charged with rioting after twice attempting to cross a cordon, according to a police report.

It happened around 9.25pm. At 25 E. Washington St., "the officers lined up with other officers and began giving verbal orders to disperse the large crowd."

At 10 p.m., Marvin Benites, 28, of Plano was seen "jumping up and down" on the CTA property at 100 N. Wabash Ave., where police were dealing with "disorderly" crowd. When police told him to leave, he allegedly refused and was arrested and taken into custody.

At 11:20 p.m., police arrested three people — a 16-year-old, an 18-year-old and a 19-year-old — on the first block of South State Street when officers observed “massive and inappropriate A well-behaved crowd," according to the police report.

The teen was allegedly seen being kicked in the head by someone lying on the ground, the report said. They each resisted when police tried to arrest them and were later charged with reckless conduct and interfering with police.

Shortly after midnight on April 16, police were on the 100th block of North Garland Court to monitor "a large unruly mob who rampaged through downtown for several hours, attacking police, intimidating pedestrians, vandalizing property and shooting" , a report said.

Four teenagers, including a 19-year-old, two 18-year-olds and a 17-year-old, were seen surrounding a marked police vehicle. Fearing the vehicle might be stolen, officers approached the four after taking a peek at it, a report said, prompting motorists to take "evasive action" in order to Avoid hitting them.

All four were charged with reckless conduct.

A 14-year-old boy from the Jefferson Park neighborhood was among hundreds of teenagers who started a riot in the 300 block of West Monroe Street around 1 a.m.

The boy remained angry and "continuously threatened officers" when police checked him in at Wentworth District station, the report said. He was taken to Comer Children's Hospital when he complained that the handcuffs were too tight and he injured his wrist.

Police tried unsuccessfully to contact his guardian three times, according to the report, which said the boy was charged with aggravated battery, interfering with a public official and resisting police.

slow police response

A curfew imposed after last year's shooting at The Bean appeared to slow the rally, but unseasonably warm weekend weather brought more young people to downtown Chicago, who appeared to challenge police.

Alder, the responding officers focused on controlling the hundreds rather than throwing themselves into battle. Brian Hopkins, second, said earlier. The strategy has allowed the party to continue, he said.

A Walgreens was ransacked, an art college burglary was attempted, two Chicago Transit buses were attacked, windows and windshields were smashed on multiple vehicles, a couple was beaten and robbed, a One officer suffered a broken bone, and another officer, Hopkins, said he was bullied, had a radio stolen and two teens were shot.

In response to the violence, the CPD assigned extra officers to patrol the center over the weekend. There were no reports of riots or arrests. Hundreds of people marched across the city center to show wayward youths that the elders of the community were there to support them.

Several senior CPD officers who normally cover the inner-city precinct could not be reached for comment, according to a police source. Two managers, including District 3 deputy chief Jill Stevens, are on leave, while the Central District captain is on leave, according to a CPD supervisor.

Deputy Chief Matt Klein, who was named the department's street representative Saturday, was eventually called downtown to lead the department's response, the supervisor said. Before Klein's arrival, there were no officers in the city center who were above the rank of lieutenant, preventing them from calling in more officers to help, the supervisor said.

Lightfoot, Johnson respond

The following Monday, Lightfoot said the city's young people have every right to spend time downtown as long as they don't engage in violence or vandalism.

"It's not the first time we've dealt with these issues, but our young people have the opportunity and the right to enjoy all that our city has to offer, but they have to do it in a way that respects people and property," Lightfoot told reporters.

Johnson called the criminal activity "unacceptable" but added that "demonizing young people who lack opportunities in their own communities is not constructive."

Sources previously told the Tribune that Lightfoot held weekly meetings with CPD leaders the following Tuesday and pressured the department's top brass about why officials were having trouble controlling crowds.

The events of April 15 are still fresh in the minds of many who participated in the Southern District Public Forum to discuss the ongoing search for the next CPD Director.

“Parents must be charged and punished for their children’s actions,” said Flora Williams, a spokeswoman at the forum, to applause. "Until we do, nothing will change."

Anthony Driver Jr., chairman of the Community Public Safety and Responsibility Committee, later said rally tactics were one of the criteria used to evaluate applicants for the job.

“Our city faces many problems, and for each of them we plan to ask candidates for sheriff how they would handle the situation,” Driver said.