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| A moment in Grant Park on Saturday. | Provided |
At least 20 people were arrested in connection with St. Patrick’s revelry in Wrigleyville and Boystown from midday Saturday to early Sunday. And at least 10 more were arrested in connection with the city’s official celebration downtown. Those are conservative estimates by CWBChicago’s editors based on initial police reports and CPD radio traffic. The final arrest numbers, which will be determined after court records are reviewed in the week ahead, are likely to be higher.
The spike in arrests around the Wrigleyville area comes after four years of steady reductions in arrests during the annual Irish blow-out. Some on-duty officers called planning for this year’s event—which traditionally relies heavily on a private security force employed by local bars—to be a “washout” and “a total failure.”
Downtown’s arrest count is up from last year’s total, too. CWBChicago did not maintain downtown arrest counts prior to the 2018 St. Pat’s celebration.
CWBChicago will post a final run-down of arrests and comparisons to previous years later this week.
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| That’s not how those are supposed to be used. | Provided |
Now, our annual run-down of a few interesting calls that went out over police radios during yesterday’s festivities.
8:15AM — In a sign of things to come, downtown’s St. Patrick’s Day police radio band crackles to life with an officer running a reveler’s name during a street stop. Officer: “Last name is Weed. Like, she’s smoking Weed…”
8:29AM — Woman is robbed outside the Renaissance Hotel. Suspect arrested nearby. CWBChicago editors ruled against including the offender as a St. Pat’s-related arrest until more details are learned from the arrest report. (If the ruling is reversed, he will go down as the earliest arrest of any St. Pat’s incident in our archives.)
10:00AM — In Wrigleyville, an officer says issuing tickets for drinking on the public way is “like shooting ducks in a barrel out here” as she issues two more citations at Clark and Eddy.
10:33AM — They’re climbing the trees in Grant Park.
The reason I no longer go near any area where they’re celebrating #StPatricksDay pic.twitter.com/JAtbkC0fZj— Lavonna1 (@Lavonnachgo1) March 16, 2019
10:34AM — “Uh…He’s, uh, he’s off the tree.” Another angle:
And, he can still stand up:
St. Patrick’s in Chicago . Wild pic.twitter.com/sEgodE1jj9— Josbe (@jose_sachezCr7) March 16, 2019
10:35AM — First arrest in Wrigleyville. Man is picked up on a warrant during a street stop at Addison and Sheffield.
10:58AM — Because police are checking bags near the parade route, “kids” are drinking and partying closer to Michigan Avenue.
12:11PM — First arrest downtown. Offender taken in for battering a 26-year-old woman at Jackson and State. Ambulance whisks the woman way.
12:27PM — “We are not going to send officers into those ‘climbing the tree calls.’ It’s too densely populated there. Record it for the log, but we’re not going in there,” CPD deputy chief says.
12:55PM — In Lakeview: “Citizen reports you have a male out front drinking beer and making facial gestures.”
1:30PM — Jackpot! Three arrested at 400 North Michigan after fighting with police.
1:36PM — Lincoln Park Alderman Michele Smith has called 911 to complain about a large party in the 900 block of West Dickens. Officer: “Those parties gonna be going on all day.”
1:46PM — 3800 block of Lakewood: “Disturbance mental. Male, white, 30, long sleeve shirt, vest, laying on the caller’s doorstep having a conversation with himself.”
1:59PM — Three more arrested downtown. Outside the Congress Hotel this time. Charged with fighting and breaking out the hotel’s windows.
2:06PM — Officer: “Do you have a description of this” lost female?
Dispatcher: “She’s a drunken female who claims to be a college student.”
Officer: “There are a lot of those around here today.”
3:09PM — Male caller says the valet stole his wife’s wallet from their car. 100 block of North Wabash.
3:15PM — Officer requests an ambulance for “two females, mid-20’s throwing up all over the place” at 355 East Grand.
4:10PM — “Older male white, bald, green shorts, is urinating in the middle of the street” at Montrose and Clark.
4:20PM — Biggest arrest of the day. Five men and women are hauled in after a fight at Murphy’s Bleachers in Wrigleyville.
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| Even CPD’s “big scary bus” wasn’t enough to counter Saturday’s nonsense in Wrigleyville. | @the1stMikeC |
4:44PM — Caller says a female got into his car at Clark and Barry and she’s demanding that he take her home. He has an Uber sticker in his window, but he’s not in service, and she refuses to get out.
4:45PM — A group of people throwing “beers and other items” from the 12th floor. Wells between Erie and Superior.
5:36PM — “A highly intoxicated white male wearing a large styrofoam sombrero” is lying down in the middle of Grand and State.
6:03PM — Whoops! Remember that call about the wife who had her wallet stolen by a valet in the 100 block of North Wabash three hours ago? The dispatchers forgot to assign that call to anyone. “Do you think they are still there?”
6:52PM — Back in Lakeview, a 911 caller reports that there is an unknown man living inside his green Jeep.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day from all of us here in Chicago pic.twitter.com/ocUjae5QYQ— Ian Erickson (@IAErickson) March 17, 2019
7:52PM — “Criminal trespassing at the Red Line Addison.” CTA reports that a black male in a green jacket was riding on top of the train when it pulled into the station. There’s also an earlier call from a witness who saw him on top of the train as it pulled out of the Belmont stop.
9:24PM — 911 caller says three men are trying to beat him up. “The call-taker can hear him saying “please, please” as people beat him and he screams for help. Call taker is trying to get an address from him.
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| Two ambulances roll into Wrigleyville to mop up some more nonsense. | @The1stMikeC |
11:23PM — Neighbors report a party so large, that people are directing traffic for arriving revelers. 2458 North Clybourn. (The same house where an AirBnB party had a 6-hour standoff with a SWAT team last week.)
1:48AM — A call of very loud music and dancing in the streets at 2458 North Clybourn.
2:12AM — In Wrigleyville, “Jeremy states that an intoxicated male white in his 40’s slapped him on his butt in front of Sluggers.” He wants a report for criminal sexual assault.
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