Mayhem erupts at Six Corners, as crowd blocks intersection, some attack police, throwing fireworks at officers; one arrest reported
by BRIAN NADIG
Mayhem erupted when about 200 people blocked off the Six Corners intersection at about 2:30 a.m, Sunday, July 3, to cheer on drivers doing “donuts” and some members of the crowd attacked responding officers, reportedly throwing fireworks at them.
Parts of the mayhem were captured on video that went viral on social media. Two police officers were treated at area hospitals for minor injuries, and one man was arrested on a gun charge, according to 16th (Jefferson Park) District police.
Video shows a car going at a high rate in circles in the middle of the intersection as a man holds on to the side of the car with one leg inside the vehicle, as the crowd cheers on. The “meetup” event reportedly was advertised on social media.
One of the injured officers reported that he initiated his vehicle’s siren in an attempt to cross the intersection but that a large crowd refused to let him through and that some members then started kicking the driver’s side headlight, climbing on top of the squad car, punching the windshield, throwing fireworks and a sandbag at the vehicle and opening the squad doors, according to police.
The officer’s injuries included glass in his right arm, police said. The windshield was reported cracked, and there were several dents on the car, police said.
Responding officers reported that they could hear multiple fireworks going off and that five individuals running away from an area of fireworks went into a car, police said.
Officers asked the men to exit the car, and a handgun was seen on the driver’s side door panel compartment, police said.
The driver told officers that he had an Indiana conceal and carry license, but Illinois does not recognize the owner is only traveling through the state, police said. The driver reportedly told officers that he was in the state to attend a “car meet” advertised on Instagram, police said.
The suspect, who was identified by police as Michael Douglas Gutierrez, age 19, of Portage, Indiana, was charged with a misdemeanor FOID violation, police said.
In addition, it was reported that fireworks were thrown near a group of officers and debris from the fireworks injured the right eye of one of the officers, police said.
A Six Corners resident said that from her home she first heard what sounded like cars racing on Cicero and then while calling 911 heard vehicles doing donuts at the Milwaukee-Cicero-Irving Park intersection.
“Brazen acts of violence and lawlessness which occurred last night in our Six Corners community are unfortunately becoming more commonplace in our city while residents and police officers safety are under attack,” Alderman James Gardiner (45th) posted on Facebook.
Gardiner said that the Chicago Police Department is experiencing “record numbers in early retirement, department transfers and alarming suicides rates among officers” due to the low morale caused by the “failed ideology” of the current administration.
An officer who contacted Nadig Newspapers said that the “bad guys” more then ever do not fear the police and that it has become “added fun to turn on us” when trying to break up disturbances.
The officer added that the city’s decision to hold news conferences outlining new restrictions on arrest procedures “emboldens” criminals, noting a recent video in which a bystander deliberately trips an officer during the chase of a suspect while another bystander tells police that they “can’t chase.”
