Garfield Ridge residents who want
to keep their
neighborhood one of the safest in the city need to be more assertive
and make themselves more visible—day and night—two frontline police officers
said Monday.
“Get outside and enjoy the
neighborhood,” said Officer Chris Barajas, as he used recent classic car shows
on Harlem and Archer avenues as an example of what some call “positive
loitering”—law abiding people filling local streets, sidewalks, parks and other
public places to basically crowd out gangbangers and other hoodlums.
“You know what? Pick a night—once a
month, like on a
Wednesday--and go hang out in one of the [parking] lots with your friends and your classic cars,”
Barajas said. “I don’t care if you bring a cooler, we’re not going to bother
you.
“It’s a good thing, because now
there’s [law abiding] eyes out there,” he continued. “Jiffy Lube or the [Archer
Heights] Credit Union or Dunkin’ Donuts, whatever.”
Barajas noted that people don’t sit
on their front porches like they did a generation or two ago, so “having eyes
on the street is that much more important.”
Barajas and Officer Mark
Eldridge—who patrol parks across the Eighth District—were the featured speakers
at the Garfield Ridge Neighborhood Watch’s monthly meeting, held in a gym at
Kinzie School. About 60 men and women attended.
GRNW President Al Cacciottolo
agreed with the officers and noted that he is encouraged by the large number of
people in Garfield Ridge who walk streets, sidewalks and parks to get
physically fit.
He said that Archer Avenue in
Garfield Ridge is safer today than it was years ago, and getting out and
getting active “is a way to keep it that way. It’s a good way to show punks
that we care about our neighborhood and we’re the ones in control.”
Cacciottolo poured praise on
Barajas and Eldridge.
“They grew up here, they went to
school here, they live here…I call them ‘our utility guys’ because they are
phenomenal, and they are everywhere. They busted the Subway [sandwich shop]
robber, they busted the guys stealing catalytic converters. These guys are
awesome.”
Barajas
thanked GRNW members and others in the community for their ongoing support of
police.
“We know who’s on our side, and we
appreciate it. In fact, we need it more than ever now,” Barajas said. “It’s
vital.”
He contrasted the pro-police mood
in Garfield Ridge with the adversarial relationship police often have
elsewhere.
“When we do traffic stops or street
stops, depending where we’re at, people come out and put the phone on us,”
Barajas said, referring to people who use their cell phones in an attempt to capture video of
police wrongdoing. “We’re not even out of our cars, people have their phones on
us. But it actually worked on our behalf a couple of times.”
Barajas suggested that to counter
the effects of people who record police in such a manner, law abiding citizens
should fight fire with fire.
“If you see us out there on a
traffic stop, on a street stop—you know what? Come on out. Be nosy. Do the same
thing,” he said, suggesting that law-abiding citizens turn the tables by using
their cell phones to record police in action—or to capture footage of people
taking video of police.
“And yours won’t be edited,”
quipped Eldridge, alluding to how some people trying to make a case against
police twist and distort footage.
“When they see that you’re taking
video, too, that will eventually make them stop, because now they’re being
challenged [with the truth],” Barajas added.
Echoing what Eighth District
Commander James O’Donnell and other CPD speakers have said repeatedly, Eldridge
urged everyone to “call 911 first” if they see a crime in progress or are even
suspicious of something that could be become a crime.
“We can’t help unless you let us
know,” Eldridge said to a woman who complained about a trespassing incident she
witnessed but admitted she did not call police. “Call 911, 911, 911. Make the
call, m’am.”
The next GRNW meeting is set for Byrne Elementary School, 54th and Oak Park, time and date to be announced.
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