Neighbors puzzled by the sudden appearance of what looked to be some sort of police vehicle in the vicinity of Congress Park and Madison avenues in Brookfield on the morning of Oct. 31 can rest easy: The suspicious white 2003 Ford Crown Victoria fitted out with red-and-blue emergency lights is for show — literally.
Police responding to the call learned that the vehicle was registered to a 30-year-old Chicago man. In addition to the emergency lights, the car also had a mount for a police squad car radio and controls for the lights inside the vehicle.
The night before about 11 p.m., a resident said a woman exited a green conversion van, got into the suspicious car and drove away. About 10 minutes later the car returned and the woman exited it, walking away westbound on Congress Park Avenue.
Later that morning, police were able to track down a Raymond Avenue resident, who told them she borrowed the car from a co-worker at a movie production studio on Chicago’s West Side while her car was in the shop.
According to the police report, the vehicle’s owner said Chicago police told him the car was street-legal because it was not marked. Brookfield police told the man that the car was in violation of the Illinois Vehicle Code because of the emergency lights mounted on top.
The car’s owner told police he would cover the lights anytime the car was driven off the movie set.
Women charged with battery
Riverside police say they contacted the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services after charging two women with battery related to an altercation during a child custody exchange on East Burlington Street in downtown Riverside on Oct. 31 at 9:20 p.m.
Police responded to East Burlington Street just east of Longcommon Road after receiving calls about a fight in the street. Officers arrived to find two women arguing with each other while others separated them. One of the women, a 31-year-old Chandler, Arizona resident, was injured and treated by paramedics.
According to police, the altercation occurred during a child-custody exchange involving a 4-year-old child, a 31-year-old Riverside man, and a 24-year-old Riverside woman in a parking lot at 7 E. Burlington St.
When the man arrived at the parking lot with the Arizona woman in his vehicle, the Riverside woman reportedly became upset and started to attack the other woman. The victim told police she wanted to sign complaints against her alleged attacker.
As the arresting officer pulled up to the police station with the alleged offender, he saw two people fighting in the police parking lot. The victim from the prior incident was battering the Riverside man who was involved in the child exchange, police said, after the two started arguing while in the car outside the police station.
Police took that woman into custody. The man refused medical attention.
Two teens charged with bike thefts
Riverside police charged a 15-year-old Riverside boy and a 14-year-old North Riverside boy with thefts of three bicycles, at least two of them from the racks at Riverside-Brookfield High School, 160 Ridgewood Road, on Nov. 1 and 2.
Police responded to the high school about 4 p.m., after a 14-year-old North Riverside boy reported his bike stolen from a rack outside the school. Surveillance video helped school officials identify the alleged offenders and police detained them in Riverside at one of the boys’ residence.
The bike belonging to the 14-year-old victim later was found parked at a different bike rack at the school. Police impounded the two other bikes. At least one of them was later returned to its owner.
The cases are being handled by Cook County juvenile authorities.
‘No gambling’ signs stolen
Police responded to two residences on Maplewood Road in Riverside on Nov. 1 after homeowners called to complain that multiple lawn signs opposing video gambling were stolen from their properties.
One homeowner stated that 50 signs were taken from the side of the home’s garage sometime during the overnight hours of Oct. 25-26. The other homeowner stated that, overnight on Oct. 24-25, someone had taken six of the signs.
Stuck
Firefighters responded to Lincoln School, 4300 Grove Ave., Brookfield, on Nov. 2 about 12:30 p.m., after a school staff member called to report a student stuck in a chair.
According to the police report, a 6-year-old girl got her knee caught in a folding chair, but firefighters were able to free her without further incident. She was not injured.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, Oct. 30-Nov. 5, and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Unless otherwise indicated, anybody named in these reports has only been charged with a crime. These cases have not been adjudicated.
— Compiled by Bob Uphues
