Twice in the past week, residents on the city’s North Side have been startled by the sounds of strangers trying to knock down their doors while claiming to be police officers, according to a community alert from Area Five detectives. No injuries have been reported in the two cases, which occurred miles apart.
According to the alert, the first incident unfolded around 9:46 p.m. Saturday, August 21, in the Irving Park neighborhood.
The victim was home in the 3300 block of West Grace when they heard knocking on their apartment door and voices outside saying they were police officers, the alert said. Police found the apartment’s back door pried open.
Some may say the victim was victimized twice because it took more than 45 minutes for a police officer to become available to respond to their 911 call for help, according to CPD dispatch records. Understaffing and “backlogs” of calls for emergency responses are plaguing the city’s neighborhoods, which have been stripped of patrol officers by CPD’s current leadership.
Then, a similar incident was reported more than five miles west around 5:51 p.m. Wednesday in the 3800 block of North Oketo. A man called 911 after voices outside yelled, “Police! Police!” while trying to knock down his door, according to the alert. The victim found his door open and the hinges broken, but the men were gone.
Police did not provide descriptions of the suspects or a motive for the crime. If you have information about the incidents, you can contact detectives at 312-746-7394 about crime pattern #P21-5-064.
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