(AURORA) A barricade situation in west suburban Aurora temporarily closed a stretch of Route 34 early Friday morning.
The stretch of Route 34 between Farnsworth Avenue and Waterford Drive was closed about 4:30 a.m. due to someone who was barricaded inside a vehicle and possibly armed, according to Aurora city spokesman Dan Ferrelli.
By 5 a.m., the situation was resolved and the road was reopening, Ferrelli said.
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(CHICAGO) An off-duty Chicago Police officer was arrested after a 12-hour standoff in the Edison Park neighborhood Wednesday morning, less than 24 hours after Chicago Police leadership announced plans to bolster support for the mental health status of officers.
Police were called to the 6500 block of North Onarga at 11:37 p.m. Tuesday for a “distraught male” in a vehicle, police said. He was taken into custody about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday and taken to a hospital for a mental health evaluation. No one was injured.
Sources told the Chicago Sun-Times that the man is an off-duty Chicago Police officer who has been with the department for 14 years. His father was a police officer for 34 years.
Twelve misconduct complaints have been brought against the officer since 2013, with one for “operation/personnel violations,” according to data made public by the Invisible Institute.
Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi declined to confirm that the man is a Chicago Police officer, saying the man’s employment was not a factor in the incident.
At a news conference at department headquarters on Tuesday, Supt. Eddie Johnson, the department’s command staff and Police Board President Lori Lightfoot discussed reforms the department would be making by the end of 2017.
Included in the 26-page outline, in the section dedicated to accountability and transparency, the department said it plans to “work to develop a system to improve communications regarding officer support to provide sufficient resources to meet officers’ wellness needs.”
The department said it plans to continue working with the University of Chicago Crime Lab and other experts in the field “to identify officer risk factors and a process to identify officers who may need additional training or support.”
After reviewing the services already available to officers, the department said it will develop a plan for “enhancing officer support, including a resource proposal to provide adequate support,” the department said.
The plan will focus on enhancing the Employee Assistance Program; any necessary revisions to the EAP’s mental and physical health providers; reaching out to officers to better inform them of available services; integrating officer wellness principles into training; and “minimizing misconceptions” about EAP’s use while encouraging it.
According to the police department’s directives manual, the EAP “is staffed by sworn and civilian counselors and requires the voluntary involvement of department members or their families who are seeking counseling.”
Department representatives did not respond when asked if the barricade situation would accelerate those plans for implementation.
The department announced Tuesday that, by the end of 2017, it would be working toward reforming five aspects of policing, including manpower and supervision; a further investment in community policing; better officer training; revised guidance on use-of-force; and more transparency and accountability.
(GRIFFITH, Ind.) A man who barricaded himself in a northwest Indiana home with a 6-year-old girl early Friday apparently shot himself to death, authorities said.
Police were called to a house in the 1000 block of North Jay Street in Griffith, Ind., at 1:41 a.m. for reports of a disturbance, according to a statement from Griffith police.
Officers saw a man with a gun inside the home with two other people, a man and a woman, police said. The officers requested backup and ordered the man with the gun to come out, but he refused.
The other two people were eventually released while the armed man remained inside, police said. Authorities then determined a 6-year-old girl was still inside the home with him.
The Northwest Regional SWAT team was called to the home, where they established but ultimately lost contact with the man, according to police. A tactical robot was deployed, and the SWAT team was able to locate and remove the girl from the home.
Officers later found the man dead in the basement with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
The Lake County Coroner’s office was called to the scene at 9:22 a.m. and identified the man as 32-year-old Don W. Lannin, who lived in the home. The manner of death had not been determined Friday afternoon.
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Mark Collins / photo from the Cook County sheriff's office
(CHICAGO) A man who barricaded himself inside a South Loop high rise for more than seven hours from Monday night into early Tuesday has been ordered held on a $50,000 bond.
Mark Collins, 48, is charged with domestic battery and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, both misdemeanors, according to Chicago Police.
Officers responded to a call of a domestic disturbance at Collins’ home in a high rise in the 1100 block of South Michigan about 7:40 p.m. Monday, police said.
Collins remained locked in a room until he was taken into custody “without incident” about 2:50 a.m. Tuesday, police said.
No injuries were reported. Police said the incident was domestic-related.
Collins was ordered held on a $50,000 bond Tuesday, and is next scheduled to appear in court Feb. 17.
© Copyright 2015 Sun-Times Media, LLC
photo from Network Video Productions
(CHICAGO) A man barricaded himself inside a South Loop high rise for more than seven hours from Monday night into early Tuesday, prompting a SWAT team response.
About 7:40 p.m., officers responded to a call of a domestic disturbance in a high rise in the 1100 block of South Michigan, police said.
A man, whose exact age wasn’t available, remained locked in a room until he was taken into custody “without incident” at about 2:50 a.m. Tuesday, police said.
No injuries were reported.
© Copyright 2015 Sun-Times Media, LLC
