Police
Oak Lawn police officer indicted for last summer’s beating of teen
By Joe Boyle An Oak Lawn police officer involved in a brutal confrontation and later the arrest of a 17-year-old last summer was indicted Tuesday by a Cook County grand jury. Officer Patrick O’Connell was indicted on counts of aggravated battery and official misconduct in connection with the July 27 arrest of Hadi Abuatelah. Zaid…
Read MoreSheriff warns public of phone scam
Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart is warning of a telephone scam where a caller identifying as a Sheriff’s Office employee tells victims they must pay a large fine for missing court or they will go to jail. The caller tells the victim to pay the fine using a money transfer app such as Zelle…
Read MoreEvergreen Park police cited after domestic violence arrest
By Joe Boyle Nine members of the Evergreen Park Police Department received commendations for making an arrest and possibly preventing further violence. Police Chief Michael Saunders requested that the commendations be given to the officers during the Evergreen Park Village Board meeting on Monday night. “The commendations were given to the officers for responding to a case…
Read MoreDrone takes McCook crime fighting to new level
By Steve Metsch The McCook Police Department has a new weapon to fight crime. A new drone equipped with an infrared camera and the ability to zoom in 200 times was at the village’s latest board meeting on Jan. 17. The village used part of a $50,000 grant from the Secretary of State’s office to…
Read MoreOrland Park cops honored and defended
By Jeff Vorva The Village of Orland Park hosted its police awards ceremony last week and, as usual, Mayor Keith Pekau expressed his gratitude for the job the police force does. He also was irked by some comments he has seen online with negative comments on a post. On Jan. 7, Orland police responded to…
Read MorePalos Park tries to stay ahead of the curve on sextortion scams
By Jeff Vorva The Palos Park Police Department is trying to stay ahead of a disturbing trend that has not been talked about publicly very much. When it comes to the topic of sextortion scams, the Palos Park police are monitoring things very closely and Detective Ross Chibe was called on to provide some wisdom…
Read MoreLaGrange man charged in Summit phone store robbery
From staff reports A LaGrange man has been charged with the robbery last week of the T-Mobile store at 5640 S. Harlem Ave. in Summit. Michael Lang Anderson, 26, was arrested in LaGrange after he was found hiding under some stairs, police said. Police said he robbed the store on January 10. Community activist Raul…
Read MoreOak Lawn carjacking victim fights back
By Bob Bong Two would-be carjackers picked on the wrong victim Wednesday afternoon in Oak Lawn. Two men armed with handguns attempted to carjack an unsuspecting victim about 3:30 p.m. in the 6500 block of West 89th Place, Oak Lawn police said in a release. The victim was able to gain access to a weapon…
Read MoreChicago Ridge man charged in Palos Heights forgery
From staff reports A Chicago Ridge man was charged earlier this month with one count of forgery stemming from an incident that happened in October. Ammar Najjar, 45, was charged January 4 with a felony count of forgery, Palos Heights police said. Palos Heights police took the original report on October 21 from a resident…
Read MoreShort shift: McCook’s newest police officer resigns
By Steve Metsch Much to the surprise of village officials, McCook is looking for a new police officer shortly after hiring one. That’s because the officer who had been was hired on Nov. 7 has resigned. Daniel Lorek, 22, submitted his letter of resignation which was effective Dec. 29, Carr told trustees during the village…
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