On Saturday morning, a crew of car thieves stole a Jeep from the parking lot of Chicago Police Headquarters, crashing through the entrance gate and making a clean getaway.
The situation gets worse: the Jeep belonged to a retired Chicago cop, and his gun was inside.
According to a CPD document reviewed by CWBChicago, the criminals did not quite flee. They plowed through the parking lot’s barrier arm to get away, but no one reported the theft or property damage for more than an hour.
The lot and headquarters have a security patrol, or so they’re supposed to, and doubts have been raised about why the crime was not uncovered sooner.
Officers on patrol, unaware of the theft, saw a black Jeep SRT and a Genesis SUV blowing red lights near Pershing and King Drive at 7:32 a.m., about three blocks from headquarters. The Jeep’s windows were damaged, and both vehicles fled southbound on Lake Shore Drive, according to police.
Shortly later, someone at Jackson Park Golf Course contacted 911 to report five Black males in ski masks standing next to a Genesis SUV attempting to steal a Jeep with its windows broken out. However, by the time police came, they had all fled.
It wasn’t until 8:50 a.m., more than an hour after the barrier was shattered, that anyone recognized the Jeep had been taken from the police department’s own parking lot.
