As Halloween evening unfolded Saturday evening in downtown Oak Park, the crowd of teens gathering there grew to numbers Oak Park police say were comparable to last year’s raucous event.
However, with pre-planning and a notable police presence from Harlem to eventually Austin Boulevard, Oak Park police said Sunday there were no arrests made, no damage and no notable incidents.
At 6:30 p.m. there were dozens of Oak Park officers and ranking officers deployed from Harlem to Kenilworth. Officers stood on street corners while squad cars were lining the street just west of the Target store in what appeared to be a command center. There were no indications of large clusters of teens at that early hour.
But the crowd of teens grew through the evening as did the police presence. Calling on its mutual aid pacts, officers and squad cars from Berwyn, Bellwood, Broadview, Brookfield, Cicero, Elmwood Park, Franklin Park, Forest View, Maywood, Melrose Park, North Riverside, and Stickney joined the effort. Police Chief Shatonya Johnson, in a statement Sunday to Wednesday Journal also called out support from police in River Forest, Forest Park, Chicago and the Cook County Sheriff’s office.
“The Oak Park Police Department took a proactive, coordinated approach to Halloween this year, working closely with neighboring law enforcement agencies to ensure a strong police presence throughout downtown Oak Park,” said the police statement.
By 9 p.m. Lake Street was lit up with police squad lights from downtown and then east toward the West Side. Squad cars and officers from multiple jurisdictions were deployed along the stretch.
Teens moved steadily and in small groups toward Austin Boulevard. There was little sign of active police engagement with the teens as they dispersed. In the main, officers clustered together at intersections chatting and often smiling.
The statement from the police department quoted Chief Johnson as saying, “Halloween is a busy time for communities, and we are grateful for the partnership and support of our neighboring law enforcement. By working together and coordinating our efforts, we were able to maintain a strong police presence throughout downtown Oak Park and prioritize the safety of our community. We appreciate the collaboration, dedication and commitment of our regional partners in helping keep our communities safe.”
