CHICAGO, IL – Video footage shows a man riding on the top of an SUV during what investigators believe is an auto theft that took place on Friday, October 14th.
Crazy video shows man riding on top of an SUV in Edgewater — and the driver running away with an ankle monitor on his leg, witness says – CWB Chicago https://t.co/cealiLvhnT
— SearchWarrant (@SearchWarrant1) October 16, 2022
A witness also sent CWBChicago a picture of the man who was driving the car, who appears to be wearing an ankle monitor.
After a flood of 911 callers who reported that there was a man trying to stop a car thief from taking his SUV by riding on the hood, police responded to the 1100 block of West Thorndale just before 3 p.m.
Caller after called reportedly told dispatchers that the apparent victim was on the hood of a gray SUV as it spend down Thorndale. The driver popped a U-Turn, then did a circle in the middle of the nearby intersection just before speeding away. Watch below:
Chicago never ceases to amaze me. #chicagoscanner #chicago pic.twitter.com/tHOCKBOytV
— CHICAGO CRITTER (@ChicagoCritter) October 15, 2022
One witness told CWBChicago that the man driving the car bailed out of the SUV moments later and ran into the Thorndale Red Line station. That witness snapped a photo of the man as he raced by. The witness said:
“Notice the ankle monitor … I think [the man on top of the car] may have left his car running. He jumped on the hood and started filming the suspect. The suspect backed up because myself and the car behind me were blocking him in. So, they suspect backed up and went into the intersection and drove in circles trying to throw the owner off.”
The witness added:
“He didn’t come off, so the suspect got out just north of Thorndale on Broadway and started running. I didn’t see what happened after I snapped the pics of him running. Lots of witnesses, though.”
According to a police department spokesperson, whoever was on the hood and the man who ran into the Thorndale train station were all gone by the time police arrived on scene. No police report was immediately filed.
In a separate incident in police-defunded Chicago, a man was pistol-whipped and shot at by would-be carjackers.
The victim, Patrick Stanton, was packing up his car in the alley in the 5100-block of North Glenwood Avenue when two men and a woman pistol-whipped and shot at him during an attempted carjacking. Stanton, who recounted what happened, said:
“I was just trying to remain calm the whole time because we are moving to Milwaukee like right now and we needed the car. Just kinda try to play it off like the keys are upstairs. I don’t have them, just to delay, delay. This is a very common area, lots of dog walkers.”
A Chicago man was pistol-whipped during an attempted car-jacking incident in the city’s Uptown neighborhood https://t.co/37dgm8w474
— WGN TV News (@WGNNews) October 13, 2022
The suspect kept demanding the keys and the struggle continued. Stanton said:
“He clipped me in the back of the head. At the time, I just kinda went a little bright and had to pull myself together and remain calm. The third person was just shouting, ‘just shoot him, just shoot him,’ and I was like, ‘OK, don’t love that attitude,’ and he actually passed the weapon off to her.”
Stanton’s partner, Brittany Hines, who was there for the incident, said:
“I heard ‘shoot him, shoot him,’ and I was hiding behind the car and heard two shots fired. I would not wish that moment on anyone, to hear two shots fired towards somebody that you love and not know what you’re going to see when you look around.”
Both shots went through the car door. Stanton and Hines remained uninjured and the three would-be carjacks ran away.
According to the Chicago Police Department (CPD), the number of carjackings in the city so far this year have remained pretty static, with 1,329 year-to-date, compared to 1,326 for the same time period in 2021.
As of this writing, no arrests have been made in the case. Police are hoping that surveillance video from the corner building, downloaded by investigators, will help lead them to an arrest.
FOP president calls out Chicago police superintendent and Kim Foxx after officers indicted for officer involved shooting
September 19th, 2022
CHICAGO, IL – On the morning of September 16th, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx announced that her office would be charging a Chicago Police Department (CPD) sergeant and officer each with three felonies in connection with a July officer-involved shooting.
LIVE: Kim Foxx announces charges against Chicago PD officer, sergeant in Pilsen shooting from July https://t.co/tPy5GaHX5V
— Robert L. Smoot (@qyou185) September 16, 2022
Sergeant Christopher Liakopoulous and Officer Reuben Reynoso have not yet been formally arraigned on charges of aggravated battery with a firearm, aggravated discharge of a firearm, and official misconduct.
As of this writing, neither have entered a plea on the charges that have been brought forth against them.
On Friday, September 16th, Cook County Judge Maryann Ahmad ordered the sergeant and the officer to each be held on a $25,000 bond. In order to be released, each man would have to pay 10 percent, or $2,500.
Both were also ordered to surrender their guns and Illinois Firearms Owner Identification Cards and to have no contact with the victim in the case.
Liakopoulous and Reynoso were both assigned to the department’s major accidents unit at the time of the incident being investigated. If convicted, they each could face up to 30 years in prison.
Illinois – Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx on Friday announced the filing of felony charges against two members of the Chicago police dept — an officer and Sergeant — in connection with a shooting this summer in Pilsen that left two people wounded https://t.co/mIEfoikAG5
— Prison_Health (@Prison_Health) September 18, 2022
Foxx said that both men were relieved of the police powers as of Thursday, September 15th. She then stated that the officers “did not have provocation or justification to shoot the unarmed victim during this incident,” adding that the officers’ “use of deadly force was not lawful.” She said:
“We cannot ignore or stand by acts of unprovoked violence, even at the hands of those who are sworn to serve and protect our communities.”
In response to Foxx’s announcement, the president of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) said that the two officers were doing their jobs.
In a video to members, FOP President John Catanzara talked about the charges as well as the incident that is being investigated. He said:
“Two of our officers were indicted by Kim Foxx for doing their job. An active gun battle with an armed defender, and they engaged him and fired rounds, and she decided that this was criminally negligent behavior.”
Foxx said that statements made by Likopoulos and Reynosos, who stated they returned fire after being show at, contradicts the videotape evidence.
In addition to calling out Foxx, Catanzara criticized CPD Superintendent David Brown and other high-ranking CPD officials for not defending the indicted police officers.
Attorneys for Liakopoulous and Reynoso told the judge that they opened fire after the 17-year-old pointed his gun at them, which they said could not be be seen on surveillance footage.
According to reports, Miguel Medina, a man who was shot at by police, has hired an attorney and filed a three-count complaint against Liakopoulos. Foxx claims that he was not committing any crimes or breaking any laws leading up to the shooting. Foxx said:
“The victim who was shot and injured in this incident was not in possession of a weapon, did not fire a weapon at these two officers.”
As is standard in all officer-involve shootings, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) opened an investigation and the officers involved were placed on administrative duties for 30 days.
On Thursday, September 15th, the day before Foxx’s announcement of the officers being indicted, COPA said that their investigation into the shooting is still ongoing and reminded the public that they have 60 days to release materials from the incident.
Democrat-run Chicago: Man faces no criminal charges in Chicago for stealing an ambulance
September 3rd, 2022
CHICAGO, IL – Law Enforcement Today has learned that the man who allegedly stole an ambulance in Chicago, Illinois, and led officers on a 70-mile chase will have no charges filed against him in two of the counties involved.
Amazingly, only one county pushed forward with any type of criminal charges.
The incident occurred on April 5th of this year when a Chicago area attorney, Benjamin Herrington, allegedly took a Chicago Fire Department ambulance without consent and fled when confronted by law enforcement.
Herrington allegedly led officers on a 70-mile chase and then went through several different counties before he was taken into custody when the chase ended in Livingston County.
NBC 5 recently got curious to see what happened with Herrington and found out the different counties that Herrington allegedly drove through and led police officers in a vehicle pursuit…only one moved forward with any type of criminal charges and it was not Cook County where the chase started.
The only county that has filed any type of criminal charges, according to NBC 5 Investigates, is Grundy County.
Grundy County State Attorney Jason Helland noted that his office did pursue criminal charges against Herrington for having the stolen ambulance which was taken out of Chicago.
Helland was quick to note that if the ambulance had been stolen in his county and captured on video, they would have filed those charges as well. He said:
“What he’s [Herrington] charged with is the possession from this county line to that county line, even though it originated somewhere else and ended somewhere else.”
For those that may not be aware, in these situations, it is typical for every county in which the criminal offense happened to move forward with criminal charges against the defendant.
However, in this case, none of the other counties opted to move forward with any type of criminal offense.
Herrington was charged with possession of a stolen vehicle and damage to government property and has pled not guilty to the charges.
The damage to government property stems from the $7,833.44 worth of damage allegedly caused by Herrington during the vehicle pursuit.
NBC 5 found that the Chicago Police Department has closed out the case on their end with no criminal charges being filed.
The reason why Grundy County chose not to pursue criminal charges is that they question the mental status of Herrington when the offense was committed.
As far as Cook County goes, the State Attorney’s Office there claims that no one in law enforcement requested charges be filed.
According to Firefighter Nation, Helland was questioned about the other counties declining prosecution over the belief that Herrington’s mental status prevented him from being able to develop criminal intent.
His response was an estimated of 70 to 80 percent of defendants in his county are dealing with either substance abuse or mental disabilities.
In other words, if it happened in his county it would be up to a jury to determine if Herrington should be held criminally liable or not.
Chicago man arrested 3 times in one day, including for pushing an innocent bystander onto train tracks
Chicago, IL: A young man with apparently too much time on his hands found himself busy recently when he was arrested three separate times in one day.
James Stamps, 28, of Joliet, Illinois, started the day off to a criminal start when he allegedly pushed a man off the tracks on a CTA platform.
The victim reported to the hospital and treated for various injuries and was released later that day.
After the railway shoving, Stamps himself went to the hospital.
According to a Breitbart column:
“After leaving the train station, Stamps traveled to Rush University Medical Center to be treated for an unknown injury. Unhappy with the service at the hospital, the 28-year-old allegedly shattered a hospital glass window after throwing a rock at it.”
That incident should come to no surprise to law enforcement officers. Criminals have a peculiar mindset that everything revolves around them and nothing else matters.
Many of their criminal acts are based on impulse and feelings that their behavior is justified, regardless of the crime and any victims that come from it. The criminal mindset is ‘they made me do it, it’s not my fault.’
According to the police, Stamps said that he broke the glass because his feet were tired, and he wanted a place to sit and eat.
Stamps was arrested for the first time that day but was released late in the afternoon.
He must not have been satisfied with his criminal performance, so he hit the streets yet again. And it wasn’t long before his second arrest.
According to the Breitbart column:
“Stamps was released at 3:20 p.m. but was arrested again less than two hours later at 5:00 p.m. for throwing rocks at a worker and his work truck at 1300 Block of South Clark Street in the South Loop.”
He must’ve been really bored if he was resorted to throwing rocks at someone who was working. No motive and explanation were provided for the incident.
The charges were dropped for the ‘rock throwing’ arrest but Stamps did receive a five-day jail sentence for the hospital arrest. Court records cited that he did not need to serve the sentence because of time already served- from another unrelated crime.
After his late release from the court system that evening, surveillance footage became available for Stamps’ early morning encounter at the train stop where he was accused of shoving an innocent bystander onto the tracks.
As Stamps exited the court, alert Chicago police officers recognized him from the footage and for the third time that day, arrested him.
The third time must have been the charm because according to Breitbart:
“He is currently in jail with bail set at $100,000. He is eligible to be released on Chicago’s electric monitoring program if he posts a bond for $10,000, CWB Chicago reported.”
The Chicago Crime Problem
Chicago has been known for its history of violent crime. This violence has worsened over the last few years thanks to its progressive mayor and liberal soft-on-crime policies, as exhibited in this case.
Crime has spiked 35% for all reported Chicago crime, with little hope for the future.
The Department of Justice recently announced dozens of charges stemming from their 2021 ‘strike force’ initiative to get guns off streets.
According to a Fox News article:
“Biden launched the [strike force] initiative last summer in an effort to help curb violet crime and gun trafficking in Chicago, which recorded a 25-year high in homicides last year, as well as in other major U.S. cities.”
Although city murders and shooting incidents have dipped slightly, overall violent crime has risen.
According to a Fox News column:
“Total violent crime categories in Chicago have generally increased in 2022 compared to 2021, 2020, 2019 and 2018, according to the Chicago Police Department’s crime statistics.”
Chicago political leaders are still falling short of stating the obvious- they need police, and they need to respect and support them. Until they do, any federal or local initiatives or lackluster social programs will only put a dent into the problem.
Until then, expect more innocent people to pushed onto train tracks and criminals getting arrested multiple times a day.
