One car crashes IN Wicker Park while second in pursuit: Road rage and consequences

In a case of road rage around Ashland and Milwaukee, a pursuit ended with two cars IN Wicker Park Monday night around 5:30 p.m. 

"We and our neighbors heard a whomp and my husband said 'call 911'," said a resident on Schiller across from Wicker Park. "The first car crashed into a tree. The driver, wearing a yellow tee-shirt with a backpack, jumped out of the car, leapt over the park fence and up a gangway toward Evergreen. He was black and in his twenties. 

"Three guys chased him up Evergreen to Milwaukee and they saw him go into the Blue Line station." 

Pursuer
It all began at Ashland and Milwaukee, where a North Aurora resident, with his young daughter, were heading to a lawyer's office. 

Referring to the driver of a car that hit him, he said, "I thought he was going to get out of his car but instead he took off, so I took out after him." 

When asked why he drove into the Park, he said, "I chased him in the park…he came here first. I was trying to get his license plate. I was going to stop chasing him, but I couldn't get his license plate." 

Action in the Park
Both cars entered off of Wicker Park Ave., racing over the basketball court, where young people were playing hoops; across the grass, where people were walking; and ended up close to the Park's Schiller side fence. 

Police Action
At least two 14th District cars responded. One officer took a report from the North Aurora man and another was checking around the vehicles. 

The incident is being classified, according to Chicago Police News Affairs, as a car crash, which is consistent with resident and CPD Sergeant interaction at the scene. 

Two residents who live on Schiller and serve on the Wicker Park Advisory Council were told that the pursuer was not being ticketed for anything. 

They explained to this reporter about their concerns and outrage about how the Sergeant treated the situation and them. 

One resident, who had called 911, explained that initially the Sergeant would not get out of his car and walk to the fence to talk with witnesses until a Sheriff's Officer, who stopped to talk with the residents, called him over. 

"I am not even sure that he spoke with the guys who chased the driver of the car that crashed into the tree." 

Later that resident and another went up to the Sergeant's car where the pursuer was standing. "I asked if he were going to be given a ticket for driving in to our park and was told 'no.' Then the guy went around to the back end of the squad car to flip me off, swore and yelled at me while walking to his car. 

"At that point, the Sergeant said I was instigating and riling him up just after they spent time in calming him down." 

The other resident said, "But for the grace of God, no one was hurt or worse by his pursuit into the Park. However when he [the pursuer] entered [the Park], he became part of the problem. 

"The Sergeant said, 'Not everyone gets arrested, you may not like it but that is how it is and if you don't like it, too bad.' 

"He was rude and treated us as though we were the enemy." 

Why this action?
While not an excuse, perhaps the Sergeant's behavior is an example of officer fatigue. As has been discussed at many community meetings, there are not enough CPD officers citywide. And in addition to their regular shifts, many are working CPD overtime hours or for private security firms when off duty. 

The department order to have all police work in pairs, for their own safety, has further reduced the number of patrol cars on the streets by one half. In the 14th District, with 12 sectors to cover, the number of cars had been reduced to eight prior to this last order. 

However, the officer's interaction with the community is contrary to CPD's efforts to bring cops and citizens closer together. And, for this to occur in a community area where residents are involved in safety, this appears to be most troubling. 

What can you do?

• Go to the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) meetings. Get the most out of them. Get to know the cops who work your beat. 
• Contact for the 12th District or call 312.746.8396.
• Contact for the 14th District or call 312.744.8290. 
• Call 911 and be sure to ask for an incident number. Call takers are NOT Chicago Police Officers, they are Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) employees. 
• Tell your alderman that you want more officers in the Chicago Police Department and in your district. 
• Be involved with your community organizations.