Two muggings Saturday, 59th and Ellis

At 6:30 p.m. and 8:10 p.m., Saturday, May 17, near 59th Street and
Ellis Avenue, individuals walking alone were approached by male
juveniles and/or men who demanded their valuables. In the first
incident, a woman was approached from behind by two offenders who
tried unsuccessfully to take a wallet from her hand, and then fled.
In the second incident, a man was approached from the front by one
male juvenile, and from behind by two male juveniles or men, who
knocked him down, kicked him, took his wallet, and then fled. In this
second incident, University police subsequently arrested the first
offender who was identified by the victim. Subsequent police
investigation resulted in the arrest of another male juvenile and a
man, but the victim could not identify them. Police continue to
investigate.

Three crimes this weekend

Between 12:45 and 1:00 p.m., Sunday, April 6, near 55th Street and
Lake Park Avenue, and then again shortly thereafter near 55th and
Ellis Avenue, a man in a white, two door 1990-99 Pontiac drove up to
the same woman, made obscene gestures from his car, and asked her to
perform a sex act. The victim ignored him, and the offender left
without getting out of his car. He was described as an African
American in his 40's or 50's, 5'10" – 6', 230-240. (This incident was
not reported to police until April 8.)

At 4:45 p.m., Tuesday, April 8, on 57th Street near Lake Park Ave. –
a man on the Metra platform was confronted by three male juveniles or
men who punched him several times and took his BlackBerry.

At 10:08 p.m., Tuesday, April 8, on Dorchester Ave. between 58th and
59th Streets, a man was walking when he was confronted by two male
juveniles or men who punched him and took his laptop, cell phone, and
wallet. The offenders then entered a four door gold Dodge Intrepid,
driven by a third man, and drove away.

Armed robberies at 54th and Ellis, and 52nd and Kenwood; crime prevention summit

On Sunday, March 30, 2008, at 9:26 p.m., on 54th Street between Ellis
and Greenwood Avenues, and at 11:15 p.m., on 52nd Street between
Kenwood and Dorchester Avenues, individuals walking alone were victims
of armed robbery. In both incidents a man confronted the victim,
displayed a silver-colored or chrome-plated gun, and demanded and took
valuables. Neither victim was harmed, and the offender fled after the
robberies. After continuing investigation, police believe that it is
likely the same man was involved in both incidents. The descriptions
given of this man are general – an African American 25 or younger,
about 5'9", 140-150 pounds, wearing dark clothing.

For those of you who want to learn more about safety and security
issues, please plan to attend the "Crime Prevention Summit" on Friday,
April 4, 2008 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in Room W1 of the School of
Social Service Administration (SSA), sponsored by UCPD and the Chicago
Police Department. For more information, call (312) 747-8382.

Shots fired at 63rd Street and Kenwood Avenue

At 3:10 p.m., Monday, March 24, Parking Security Personnel reported
shots fired near the corner of 63rd Street and Kenwood Avenue. Two
automobiles were damaged. No injuries were reported. Both Chicago
Police and the University of Chicago Police immediately arrived on the
scene. Police continue to investigate the incident.

Shooting at 52nd and Harper

At 9:44 p.m., Wednesday, March 19, near 52nd Street and Harper Avenue,
a man was shot on the street by one of three other men who were in a
black Jeep Cherokee. The victim was taken to a hospital where he was
reported in serious but stable condition. Police are investigating.

Mugging 55th and University

At 12:50 a.m., Saturday, February 2, 2008, just west of University
Avenue near 55th Street, a woman was walking toward the entrance to
Pierce Hall when a man ran up to her from behind, pushed her against a
wall, took her purse, and fled back to a maroon four door vehicle.

Armed robbery, Kenwood and 61st

At 12:15 a.m., Wednesday, January 30, on Kenwood Avenue between 61st and
62nd Streets, a man was walking from his house to his nearby parked
car. He was confronted by another man who got out of a late model, dark
colored, two-door Chevy, displayed a gun, and demanded the victim's
valuables. The victim struggled with the offender for the gun. During
the struggle, a second man got out of the car and fired two gun shots at
the victim, who ran unhurt back to his house. Police are investigating.

Comprehensive listing of recent hyde park crimes

As I have reported before, crime listings in the newspaper indicate only a fraction of crimes reported in Hyde Park. All police reports are aggregated at the Chicago Crime Database, and recently this list has been more conveniently aggregated at Everyblock. Here is a listing of crimes entered in the database between January 15 and today. There is generally a one week delay between the time a crime is reported and its appearance in the database.

Other offense: Missing person 800 block E. 59th St Other offense: Lost property 1500 block E. 53rd St Other offense: Telephone threat 900 block E. 57th St Deceptive practice: Credit card fraud 1500 block E. 53rd St Deceptive practice: Forgery 5700 block S. Maryland Ave Theft: Pocket-picking 5200 block S. Ingleside Ave Other offense: Other vehicle offense 5400 block S. Lake Park Ave Theft: $300 and under 5500 block S. Lake Park Ave Theft: From building 900 block E. Hyde Park Blvd Vandalism: Criminal damage to property 5300 block S. Ingleside Ave Simple battery: Simple 5300 block S. Woodlawn Ave Vandalism: Criminal damage to property 5300 block S. Woodlawn Ave Other offense: Telephone threat 5700 block S. University Ave Theft: From building 5100 block S. Kimbark Ave Deceptive practice: Illegal use of cash card 5100 block S. Harper Ave Vandalism: Criminal damage to property 5400 block S. Ellis Ave Motor vehicle theft: Theft/recovery: automobile 1400 block E. 55th Pl Aggravated assault: Knife/cutting instrument 900 block E. 58th St Criminal trespass: To land 5300 block S. Blackstone Ave Robbery: Strongarm: no weapon 5100 block S. Harper Ave Robbery: Strongarm: no weapon 5400 block S. Woodlawn Ave Theft: Over $300 5200 block S. Cottage Grove Ave Narcotics: Manufacturing/delivery of heroin (white) 5200 block S. Harper Ave Deceptive practice: Credit card fraud 1500 block E. 55th St Simple assault: Simple assault 900 block E. 55th St Simple battery: Domestic battery: simple 1400 block E. 53rd St Aggravated battery: Other dangerous weapon Theft: From building 1200 block E. Hyde Park Blvd Other offense: Death 5800 block S. Maryland Ave Motor vehicle theft: Automobile 1400 block E. 53rd St Robbery: Armed: handgun 5300 block S. Harper Ave Simple battery: Domestic battery: simple 5800 block S. Blackstone Ave Robbery: Armed: handgun 5800 block S. Maryland Ave Motor vehicle theft: Theft/recovery: automobile 5800 block S. Blackstone Ave Criminal trespass: To land Other offense: Death 5300 block S. Blackstone Ave Simple assault: Simple assault 1500 block E. 52nd St Theft: Over $300 900 block E. 54th St Criminal trespass: To land 5400 block S. Woodlawn Ave Theft: Over $300 1500 block E. 53rd St Theft: Retail theft 1200 block E. 56th St Theft: From building 5600 block S. Blackstone Ave Motor vehicle theft: Automobile Theft: From building 5400 block S. Harper Ave Robbery: Armed: handgun 5600 block S. Woodlawn Ave Vandalism: Criminal damage to property

Purse snatching, 56th and Greenwood

At 11:50 a.m., Monday, January 21, at 56th Street and Greenwood Avenue,
a woman was walking when two men drove up in a 1990-93 black four door
Maxima (with a broken tail light on the passenger side) and asked
directions. As she was talking to them through one of the car's windows,
one of the men reached out and grabbed her purse. They then drove away.

Purse snatching, 9 AM Jan 18, University and 56th

At 8:50 a.m., Thursday, January 18, on University Avenue between 55th
and 56th Streets, a woman was walking when she was confronted by another
woman who grabbed her purse. When the offender found nothing inside,
she returned the purse to the victim, and returned to a nearby white
vehicle driven by a second woman and drove away.

Suspects in Cisse case plead not guilty

Two of the three suspects accused in the Amadou Cisse murder case pleaded not guilty to all charges Friday, authorities have said. Eric Walker, 16, and Demetrius Warren, 17, both pleaded not guilty to charges. A third suspect, Benjamin Williams, 21, has not entered a plea.
More: Suspects in Cisse case plead not guilty

Looking back on the Amadou Cisse tragedy

A reader wrote to ask me, essentially, if I thought there were any lessons to be learned from the murder of Amadou Cisse, if one were to investigate the crime.

I told him that I think there are several potentially revealing angles to look at. First let me say that I don't think it would be interesting or insightful to look at any failure on the side of the university or police. I don't think parallels with other school shootings apply here.

Most interesting, I think, would be to focus both on Eric Walker and Amadou. The tragedy isn't really just about Amadou, but about Eric and Amadou, as well as Warren and Williams, the accomplices. Both Amadou and Eric came from turbulent backgrounds --Amadou's father was killed in battle in Gambia, and Eric's father was gunned down when Eric was three. Both families are certainly devestated. I don't think Eric was expecting to come across the likes of Amadou-- another fighter, who wasn't willing to give in easily, contributing to the deadly result. So the meeting of these two people, so different yet alike in some ways, presents a potentially insightful line of inquiry.

A secondary theme, one that is potentially well investigated in other contexts, is the clash between the university population and the neighborhood. I think Walker said something to the effect that he was going to Hyde Park to commit a crime because people up there have money. From my own experience, I used to think that the crimes around here had a really strong racial component--black on white or black on asian. However, this makes it seem as though class may be playing a role anyway.

There are some other aspects also about clashes between the cultures--on Walker's side, the "gangster" mentality, failures of the education system and parenting -- these are discussed here.
The University side, to some degree, perhaps can represent some isolationism from the surrounding community, despite the best of intentions an efforts.

Despite the time that has passed, every few days it seems someone leaves a message here remembering Amadou. We have heard very little from the community of the perpetrators, a piece of the conversation that I think is sorely missed.

Mugging Wednesday Blackstone and 59th

At 8:55 p.m., Wednesday, January 9, on Blackstone Avenue between 58th
and 59th Streets, a woman was confronted by an unknown man who indicated
he had a handgun, demanded her valuables, took her wallet, and fled.
Police are investigating.

Shooting at 5300 Cottage Grove

*At 8:50 p.m., Wednesday, December 26, on the 5300 block of South
Cottage Grove, a woman was shot by an unknown man as she and a male
companion both walked southbound on Cottage Grove. The unknown person
exited the passenger side of a light blue Chevy Corsica (Illinois
plates) and began shooting at both victims. No words were exchanged.
When the victims ran from the incident, the shooter returned to the
vehicle and fled northbound on Cottage Grove. The female victim was
treated at a local hospital. Police are investigating.*

No bond for 3rd U. of C. suspect

December 16, 2007
BY DAVE NEWBART <mailto:dnewbart@suntimes.com> Staff Reporter
dnewbart@suntimes.com

A third suspect charged in the murder of a University of Chicago
graduate student was ordered held without bond Saturday.

Benjamin Williams, 21, of Dolton, was alleged to have acted as a scout
and lookout for a group of teens involved in a series of robberies Nov.
18 near the U. of C. campus.

Authorities said he was one of five people involved. The other two
remain uncharged.

Williams allegedly helped identify potential victims and then watched
out for police. Authorities said he admitted his role in the spree.

Armed Robbery at 60th and Tracks

At 9:36 a.m., Friday, December 14th, on East 60th Street, underneath the
Illinois Central viaduct, a woman was walking westbound from Stony
Island when she heard running footsteps behind her. When she turned
around an unknown man pointed a small chrome revolver at her, demanded
her wallet and money. He took her cell phone and wallet and fled east
and south from the location. Police are investigating.

arrests in connection with Amadou Cisse murder

Last week, the Chicago Police Department announced an arrest related to
the Nov. 19 attempted robbery and fatal shooting of Amadou Cisse. Eric
Walker, 16, was charged as an adult with first-degree murder and one
count of attempted armed robbery with a firearm in connection with
Cisse's death in an incident that occurred at 1:26 a.m. at 6120 S. Ellis
Avenue. He was also charged with two counts of armed robbery with a
firearm in connection with the robbery of two women at 924 E. 57th St.
at 1:15 a.m. that morning by an individual who said he had a weapon. A
third incident, for which he was also charged with one count of armed
robbery with a firearm, occurred in connection with the robbery of a man
in the 5300 block of S. Greenwood Avenue at about 1 a.m. that day.

This morning, a second person was charged in connection with related
incidents on Nov. 19. Demetrius Warren, 17, was charged with two counts
of armed robbery for the robbery of the two women on 57th St., and one
count of armed robbery in connection with the robbery of the man on S.
Greenwood Avenue. Additionally, Warren was charged with aggravated
discharge of a weapon in connection with a fourth incident that morning
at 12:33 a.m. at 6045 Woodlawn Avenue, in which a man was chased by an
individual who fired a shot in his direction.

The Chicago Police Department was able to find a car fitting the
description given by two robbery victims and which had been recorded on
Medical Center cameras. University Police and Medical Center staff were
able to locate this vehicle on Medical Center cameras that are deployed
in the area of the robbery of the two students.

Rudy Nimocks, UC Police Chief, put it well when he said: "We are also
saddened for the other young persons involved in this case. We see too
much violence against young people, in many cases committed by other
young people. We must all think about ways to confront the causes of
crime in addition to being diligent in our efforts to arrest the
offenders and make our community as safe as possible."

Shooting today at 61st and Kimbark

At approximately 3:30 p.m. today (Dec. 4), a 16-year-old
male was walking with his sister and other teens on 61st Street between
Kimbark and Kenwood. A beige sedan passed them and someone inside the
car fired several shots in their direction, one of which struck the
victim in the right leg. The victim was taken to the University of
Chicago Medical Center, where he is listed in good condition. Police
believe that this is the aftermath of an earlier fight that occurred
near the Hyde Park Academy involving the victim's older brother. The
police are investigating.

How to use SafeRide, sign up for calert for University type people

The SafeRide, late-night transportation service is now available at 10 p.m.
Please call 773-702-2022 to arrange for a trip to and from anywhere in the UCPD coverage area:
North to 39th Street, south to 64th Street
East to Lake Shore Drive, west to Cottage Grove Avenue
SafeRide is available until 4 a.m. Sunday - Thursday nights and 6 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.

Note, the SafeRide van is in addition to the Evening Bus Service and Umbrella Service (e..g being shadowed by UCPD, call 702-8181).

My experience with all of these services (so far) is that none of them ask for a university ID.

Also, I've been at the University for four years, obviously always reading about security, and was never told how to sign up for the Calert (text and voice message security alert) system.

Unfortunately, you MUST be a university member with a CNET ID to use the system. Go to:

https://calert.uchicago.edu/

What type of Shuttle system does the University need?

Reader Lindsay Edgecombe has contributed the following post. It is particularly relevant in light of the University's pledge to assess and improve the SafeRide system:

...my fiancée Lev told me about the Amadou Cisse’s shooting last night. Lev lives around 56th Street and South Cottage Grove and was mugged just after he moved in in September, and we’ve been in shock how dangerous the neighborhood is and how little the University does to protect students—especially graduate students, who tend of live on the edges of the campus neighborhood where it’s less safe and who also are more likely to work long hours.

What do you think we can do to encourage the University to create a better shuttle system to drop students off? I’m not talking about having a police officer walk you home, which few are inclined to do (and few males)—but a frequent, available service that students could rely on. All other universities I’ve been to have this.

In New York, where I live, we have a very successful non-profit called Right Rides (www.rightrides.org), where volunteers drive women home between 12-3 on Saturday nights. It goes a long way to create a sense of community and to make people feel safe. Maybe someone within the university could start some kind of volunteer program like this, and then the university would catch on and create a better shuttle service. In any case, it’s a good model for people to know about. I was also at Princeton recently where we took a shuttle where the driver/navigator were logging work-study hours, which also had a good feel because students were helping other students. Of course the University needs to step up to the plate here, but getting students involved in helping each other does the community psychological good.

I’ve copied Lev here—if you know of any community meetings where people are discussing this, or if you know of people in the University administration we should be writing to, we’d really appreciate the info.

Feel free to post this on your blog if it’s helpful.

Thanks,

Lindsay Edgecombe and Lev Brie

University adds vans, substation, appeals to Mayor Daley

University president Zimmer sent an email about its security response to Amadou's murder:
-The police substation at 61st and Drexel is now open.
-Two vans have been added to the SafeRide program. The hours for the SafeRide program have been expanded to begin at 10 p.m. Phone lines have been added to ensure that callers will be able to reach a dispatcher with their pickup request.
Comment: The university needs to communicate more clearly what the SafeRide is, and how to use it. They should also add a web or text-message interface to request SafeRide.
-A Working Group on Safety and Security will be co-chaired by Kim Goff-Crews, Vice President and Dean of Students in the University, and Rick Rosengarten, Dean of the Divinity School and current Chair of the Committee on Crime Prevention and Security on Campus and in the Neighborhood. The group will review policing, transportation, lighting, and dissemination of information; solicit ideas for improving campus safety; and make recommendations about additional improvements we should undertake.
-The University has hired an external security firm to conduct a thorough review of security measures.
-UCPD Chief Rudy Nimocks has been working closely with Chicago Police Superintendent Dana Starks, and the Chicago Police Department also has increased its patrols in the neighborhoods near campus.
-President Zimmerman will be meeting with Mayor Richard M. Daley to ask for his support in finding ways to further reduce crime in our community.

Armed robbery at 57th and Kimbark

This safety alert arrived at 2:10 PM on the 23rd:
At 12:49 a.m., Friday, November 23, on Kimbark Avenue near 57th Street, two men were walking when two other men came from behind, displayed handguns, demanded and took the victims' valuables, and fled. Police are investigating.
Over 13 hours for the Safety Awareness Alert to be sent to subscribers. Although, as the University police chief pointed out, most of the crimes are one-offs.

Latest updates on Hyde Park murder, related crimes, victim

We are continually updating our original posts about these tragic events as we learn more.

More information about the life of Amadou Cisse, a collection of memories, and information about memorial events have now been added to the original post.

Additional details about the three crimes of that evening have been compiled, including a photo of the car potentially used by the assailants (updated Nov. 21 8 AM).

After attending last night's press release, we have written an analysis of the University's response.

We are planning a post about the community response. Please email your thoughts to hydeparkcrime@gmail.com, or post a comment here.