Tag Archives: police officers

Rep. Daniel Lipinski on ‘Get Behind the Vest’ and fundraising event

Big John and Ramblin’ Ray have Rep Daniel Lipinski discuss “Get Behind the Vest,” a community-based effort to raise money toward the purchase of replacement bulletproof vests for Chicago police officers.

Police officers are provided with one bulletproof vest when they join the force but are responsible for purchasing replacement vests themselves. At $500 or more per vest, the costs can quickly add up, especially since they wear out and need to be replaced every five years or after coming in contact with a bullet. The Congressman, in partnership with Chicago Alderman Silvana Tabares and local community leaders and businesses, is hosting a pancake breakfast on Sunday, October 14 from 8 am to noon at St. Daniel the Prophet School, 5337 S. Natoma, Chicago.

Proceeds go to the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation.

Suspect shot himself on I-294 after fleeing police

(SOUTH HOLLAND) A shoplifting suspect in northwest Indiana fatally shot himself after fleeing police and crashing Monday afternoon on I-294 in South Holland.

At 12:13 p.m., a store supervisor at Cabela’s, 7700 Cabela’s Dr. in Hammond, called police and reported a possible shoplifter inside the store, according to Hammond Police Lt. Richard Hoyda.

One officer entered the store and a second went to another location to watch surveillance video of a man who appeared to be taking items and concealing them, according to Hoyda. Both officers waited until the man left the store, then went after him.

The suspect ran away and the officers pursued him, Hoyda said. One of the officers ran past the suspect, who was hiding by some boats outside the store. The man then ran back toward the front entrance of Cabela’s.

One of the officers fired ordered the man to stop several times then fired his Taser, which did not appear to have any effect, Hoyda said. The man pulled out a handgun and fired at the officer, who was not hit.

The same officer tried a second time to hit the man with his Taser, but he ran away and got inside his silver Honda Civic, Hoyda said.

One of the officers chased the Honda north on Indianapolis Boulevard from Cabela’s, Hoyda said. The suspect took a u-turn on Indianpolis Boulevard and got onto westbound I-80/94.

The suspect merged onto I-294 and stopped his car on the ramp to the Lincoln Oasis in South Holland, Hoyda said. The officer who was chasing him got out of his car and saw a puff of powdered smoke inside the Honda.

The suspect shot himself in the head, according to Hoyda and Illinois State Police. He was dead at the scene.

The Cook County medical examiner’s office identified him as 34-year-old Palak P. Desai of the 600 block of Hundley Street in Hoffman Estates. An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday.

No shots were fired by police officers, according to the statement.

Several items stolen from Cabela’s by the suspect were recovered outside the store by employees, Hoyda said.

The entrance ramp to the Lincoln Oasis remains closed for the investigation.

Illinois State Police and Hammond police are investigating the suicide and Hammond police are investigating the shoplifting incident.

© Copyright 2016 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved.

Official: Chicago to hire 100s more officers

(CHICAGO) A city official says the Chicago Police Department will hire more than 500 additional officers as it struggles to deal with the city’s uptick in gun violence.

Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson is expected to announce the hires Wednesday.

The official, who was briefed on the plan, spoke with The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss it ahead of the announcement.

The department has more than 12,000 officers currently, and hasn’t had a hiring push of this magnitude in years.

Chicago has seen more than 500 homicides already — higher than all of 2015.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on overtime for officers rather than hire more in recent years. Emanuel spokesman Adam Collins declined to comment.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.