We now know why Chicago’s crime is so out of control…the gangs and NOT police rule the streets. A raucous and “very dangerous” gang party that brought 1,000 people to a Near West Side park late Sunday was so out of control, Chicago police struggled to shut it down, one alderman said. Fights broke out, people got drunk and high…When will the Chicago police take back the streets?

A week ago, Chicago street gangs held a huge party in a park, with a thousand people attending, some brandishing firearms, terrifying neighbors for hours. The police sent 25 squad cars, yet were outnumbered and unable to really do anything:

A homeowner who has lived in the area for two years said a fight broke out on her front lawn about 1:30 a.m. Monday, and she watched in horror as five people stomped on a woman. She promptly called 911.

A neighbor said he personally called 911 and met with about eight officers in his alley about 3:30 a.m. Monday as the mayhem continued.

“They proceeded to tell me every reason they couldn’t do their job, from not having enough resources to not visually seeing illegal activity to not wanting to escalate a situation,” he said. “There are laws being broken all the time, and they are not being enforced.”

Despite calling for police and politicians to address notoriously loud and sometimes violent gang parties for years, neighbors living near Touhy-Herbert Park report that this weekend’s massive all-night party that spilled over into the streets was worse than ever.

A FIGHT BROKE OUT – ONE OF MANY:

One area neighbor called the out-of-control party “Armageddon.”

“Sheer madness, chaos, bedlam, insanity!!!!!” she wrote on Facebook. “It was literally like ‘[a] calling in the National Guard and SWAT team’ situation. It was a party riot.”

The 25 Police Department squad cars that were eventually sent to the scene weren’t enough to break up the party of more than 1,000 people, said veteran 27th Ward Ald. Walter Burnett Jr., who lives in the neighborhood.

The police were outnumbered, he said.

“It’s not just an inconvenience, it’s very dangerous,” Burnett said. “When you have that many people drinking, getting high, anything can happen.”

A homeowner who witnessed Sunday’s “complete mayhem” agreed.

“You had people who were boozing hardcore and were jacked up on drugs. By the time cops showed up it was just so far gone,” said the man, an engineer who moved to the block in April.

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Read more: DNA Info

 

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