Editor’s Note: It has long been the contention of some observers that ‘flash mobs’ involving relatively innocuous activities such as pillow fights and line dancing are potentially precursor to much more insidious events. Given the situations described in the below article, it would appear that law enforcement will have to contemplate an escalation in the activities of such ‘mobs.’ As we have seen during the so-called ‘Arab Spring’ these past few months, whole revolutions can be managed via Twitter. What do you see on the horizon in this arena? Post your comments below.
By Fran Spielman and Kim Janssen
Chicago Sun-Times
CHICAGO — Acting Police Supt. Garry McCarthy vowed Monday to hunt down every last thug responsible for so-called “flash mob” incidents over the weekend and throw the book at them to get a handle on a problem that’s damaging the reputation of downtown Chicago as a safe place to live, work, play and shop.
Speaking as five teens made their first appearances in court in connection with a string of five robberies - four within a 10-minute span - in Streeterville Saturday, McCarthy said police had made “in excess of 20 arrests” connected to flash mobs over the weekend.
During a break at his City Council confirmation hearing, McCarthy pointed to the arrests as proof there are enough police officers downtown, that the department’s strategy is working and that shoppers, employees and residents have nothing to fear from the large groups of teens who use violence and sheer numbers to intimidate and confuse.
“Our reaction to it has been quick, it’s been swift and it’s been very effective,” McCarthy said. “I don’t believe that it’s going to be something that we need to worry about long-term. We have to knock this out. We have to knock it out quickly - and that’s what we’re doing.
“We’re gonna find every one of ‘em. And we’re gonna prosecute and arrest every single one of ‘em.”
Asked whether tourists and people wanting to enjoy the lakefront should be concerned, McCarthy said, “No” but urged citizens to use common sense. “We have to be aware,” he said. “That’s the nature of the world today. But nobody should be afraid of this.”
McCarthy again insisted that gang loitering, intimidation and flash mobs had nothing to do with his department’s unprecedented decision to close North Avenue Beach on Memorial Day, despite statements to the contrary from beachgoers and some police officers.
Downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) takes McCarthy at his word, but called for more officers downtown and along the lakefront.
Statistics show that robberies have increased by 10 percent so far this year in the downtown Near North police district, placing the district 12th out of 25 districts citywide.
Asked Monday whether he intends to assign more officers downtown, McCarthy said, “No. . . What we’re looking at is the cops we have, where they are and what they’re doing.”
Three adult teens charged in connection with the Saturday robberies were each ordered held Monday on bails of $200,000 or more. They were identified by prosecutors as:
Derodte Wright, 18, of the 3500 block of South State, a student at Perspectives Charter School, accused of attacking nursing student Ryan Dacumos and robbing him on the Lake Michigan bike path near Chicago Avenue around 8.30 p.m. Described in court by his attorney as a good student with prospects of a college baseball scholarship, Wright was ordered held on bail of $200,000 by Cook County Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil.
Trovulus Pickett, 17, a Youth Connections Leadership Academy student who lives in the 8400 block of South Dorchester. Also charged with the robbery of Dacumos, Pickett allegedly teamed up with other youths to attack a 68-year-old Seattle physician Jack Singer in the 300 block of East Chicago Avenue minutes earlier, stealing his iPad and phone, and is also accused of robbing a Japanese doctor of his iPod in the 700 block of North Lake Shore Drive a few minutes later. Pickett’s bail was set at $300,000.
Dvonte Sykes, 17, of the 7500 block of South Normal, a student at Carver Vocational Career Academy, accused of robbing a Thai man who was taking photographs in the 700 block of North Lake Shore Drive and with taking part in a “mob action” in which northwest suburban insurance agent Krzysztof Wilkowski fought off robbers who tried to take his scooter in the 300 block of East Chicago. Sykes’ bail was set at $250,000.
Speaking later Monday, Sykes’ mother Tonia Rush said she believed the bails would have been lower if the crimes were on the South or West sides. “If it’s black-on-black crime, nobody cares,” she said.
Two 16-year-old also charged in connection with the attack on Sykes were also ordered held in custody Monday after appearing before juvenile court Judge Lori Wolfson.
Meanwhile, a University of Illinois at Chicago student was beaten and robbed of an iPod by a group of males on a CTA bus early Sunday, prompting the university to issue a crime alert.
The student was sitting on a bus at 1300 W. Roosevelt just after midnight when a group of males got on the bus, according to the school. One suspect struck the student with a glass bottle on the back of his head and took the student’s iPod.
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