Feb 21, 2025 Story by: Editor
From July to December 2024, Oak Park police conducted 168 pedestrian stops, with Black men making up the majority, according to police data. This trend mirrors the previous report from April to June 2024, where Black men were also predominantly stopped.
During this six-month period, 139 of those stopped were Black men, women, or children, with 120 specifically being Black men or boys.
Oak Park Police Chief Shatonya Johnson stated that only 19 of these stops were initiated by officers, while the remaining 149 were responses to calls for service from residents requesting police intervention.
The report was reviewed during a meeting of the Oak Park village board.
While specific details of each stop are outlined in the report, common reasons cited for stopping Black individuals included “suspicious person,” “trespass warning,” or “suspicious activity.”
Trustee Cory Wesley expressed concern over the racial disparity in these stops but suggested the issue lay more with the community than law enforcement, pointing out that residents disproportionately report Black individuals to the police.
“I get the feeling that our community doesn’t understand how to recognize suspicious white people,” Wesley remarked.
Village Manager Kevin Jackson echoed the importance of fostering understanding and continuing resident education on the matter.
Chief Johnson stated that the data did not indicate biased policing.
“Looking at the data, I don’t see biased stops,” Johnson said. “What I do see is the partnership that the police department has with the community in helping us keep the community safe.”
Breakdown of the Data
Between July and December, Black individuals comprised between 71% and 90% of those stopped each month.
The reasons for these stops were similar to previous reports, with citations including “suspicious person,” “trespass warning,” “suspicious activity,” and “other,” the latter often referring to welfare checks.
Johnson noted that many calls police respond to involve retail theft, where businesses may choose not to press charges but issue a trespass warning instead.
“We do spend time helping to educate our residents about what is suspicious, what constitutes suspicious activity, and we’ll continue to educate,” Johnson added.
Examining Potential Bias
Johnson asserted that, on the surface, the data did not indicate bias.
“Looking at just the distribution by race, it may look like it’s focused on one specific race,” Trustee Ravi Parakkat observed. “But I’m trying to get to the next level of detail to see if that actually indicates bias or if it’s just reporting of data.”
Wesley, however, argued that the data itself was only part of the issue and that bias could be reflected in what was not being reported. He noted the disproportionate number of calls concerning Black individuals compared to white individuals, suggesting unconscious bias as a factor.
“There is a segment of calls here that probably would show up that don’t show up here because a lot of folks don’t recognize it as biased,” Wesley explained.
Trustee Chibuike Enyia supported Wesley’s perspective and inquired about the police process when a call for suspicious activity is deemed unfounded. Johnson responded that officer conversations with callers in such cases vary. Enyia suggested implementing a standardized approach.
Trustee Brian Straw highlighted concerns about an incident at 3:48 a.m. on October 22, when a man was reported sleeping in the same location for two consecutive nights. While he acknowledged the need for police to respond to service calls, he questioned whether the individual should have been moved in the middle of the night instead of being connected to services.
“I don’t know that making someone move along when they have nowhere to go and no way to get there in the middle of the night, I just don’t know what we’re doing there,” Straw said.
Johnson clarified that the village is working on implementing its E.C.H.O. program, an alternative response initiative aimed at connecting individuals with necessary services. She added that in this particular case, the individual matched the description of a suspect involved in a burglary earlier that night.
However, she emphasized that officers do inform individuals about available resources, such as police station accommodations, warming shelters, or overnight facilities, for their safety.
Arrest Data and Trends
Police data indicates that of the 168 stops made in the third and fourth quarters of 2024, 28 resulted in arrests for offenses such as retail theft, active warrants, and other criminal activities.
Johnson noted that most individuals receiving citations or being arrested were not Oak Park residents, with some experiencing homelessness.
She also pointed out that arrest rates were higher when officers initiated stops themselves, as they could often identify individuals engaged in criminal activity.
“As officers, we are trained to recognize when someone is involved in criminal behavior, which is why self-initiated stops often lead to more arrests,” Johnson explained. Source: Journal of the Oak Park and River Forest
