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Residents and community leaders urge action on youth violence, retail policing and community engagement
Summary
Several public commenters at the board meeting urged community-based responses to youth violence, accused specific officers and units of misconduct, raised concerns about retail policing and called for renewed community–police engagement and a May 3 march in Woodlawn.
Several community members used the board's public-comment period to press for changes in policing and to report neighborhood incidents.
Melanie Hogan, founder of Shidelove, said youth violence is increasing and described a Facebook group she started to identify youths seen in videos: "We're seeing news of more children's bodies being laid out on the pavement, getting attacked at parks," she said, urging neighborhood-level solutions and increased parental involvement.
Rabbi Michael Bon Yosef accused a named officer of causing a death: "Reginald Clay Junior was murdered by Chicago police officer Fernando Ruiz," he said, and urged the city to treat the tactical team he named as a public-safety risk. This allegation was delivered during public comment and no board response is recorded in the transcript.
Pastor Doyle Landry described an incident at a Walgreens at 111th and Western where he said he was denied a police report while assisting senior citizens and urged the district commander to investigate; he framed the issue as a failure to serve seniors who need prescriptions and assistance.
Lena Bivens, founder of community nonprofit Our Lexi, asked the board to consider how police training assignments affect neighborhood policing and urged the city to prioritize officers who want to be in a community: "Our community, we want people in our community who wanna be there," she said, and called for more useful beat meetings.
Evangelist Latice Porter announced a community march planned for May 3 in Woodlawn intended to bridge police and community relations, said she had coordinated with the superintendent's office and local aldermen and invited board participation and officers to engage at the event.
The board did not take action during public comment; President Cooper closed the public-comment portion after calling each registered speaker and later adjourned the meeting.
