CHICAGO — Backup units rushed to a Chicago police station on Tuesday morning after migrants “revolted” when officers tried to arrest another migrant for assault, according to an officer who was at the scene.
A CPD spokesperson confirmed that police arrested Juan Marquez Vielma, 20, for assault and trespassing after he threatened an officer in the 1400 block of South Blue Island. The Near West (12th) District station is located on that block.
Vielma reportedly fled from officers but was arrested when he appeared in front of the station shortly before 11 a.m.
At that point, multiple sources said, migrants who live in a nearby lot intervened and tried to defeat the arrest.
“The whole camp tried to physically intervene and pull [the] offender from police,” an officer texted on Tuesday afternoon. “One migrant took a swing at a sergeant.
A CPD supervisor radioed for more units to come to the station: “Line in front of the station, cameras on! Line in front of the station, cameras on!”
Another officer soon reported that the migrants were “a little bit belligerent, but we got it under control.”
“We have about 200 migrants,” another sergeant estimated.
A source confirmed that district supervisors pulled two of the district’s patrol cars off the streets for the rest of the shift to maintain security at the station.
While two ambulances were summoned to the station during the incident, a CPD spokesperson said no injuries were reported in connection with Vielma’s arrest. The department did not answer directly when asked if any other arrests were made during the incident.
Migrants living in the 12th District station do not get along with a group of migrants who set up camp in a nearby lot. CWBChicago reported last week that one of the lobby residents was threatened with a knife, beaten, and knocked unconscious by migrants who live in the camp.
A new video clip sent to CWBChicago shows the recent state of affairs in the 12th District lobby, where dozens of migrants sleep on the floor, often with little padding. At one point, a very young child is seen lying on the floor, wrapped in a pink blanket with no pillow. Watch:
Other incidents have been reported at CPD stations, where hundreds of migrants are currently camped out.
In Logan Square, Shakespeare (14th) District officers reported an unusual situation when a non-migrant who had been living at the station “approached the front desk… to complain about the sleeping arrangements,” a CPD arrest report said.
An officer and a civilian CPD employee at the desk informed Ian Richards, 27, that “there are no current beds available for sleeping,” which caused Richards to become “irate” and slam a pen on the front desk counter, the report continued.
He then grabbed his walking cane, mounted the counter, and struck a CPD computer monitor with his cane, damaging the screen, the report said.
Officers arrested Richards for felony damage to government property. Judge Charles Beach released him on his own recognizance. But Richards did not show up for his recent court date, and a judge issued a warrant for his arrest, according to court records.