ROGERS PARK — In a show of force and solidarity, Chicago Police officers joined a wall of Evanston Police officers under a light pink sky Wednesday night along a violent stretch of Howard Street, showing the community and bad guys their resolve.
But just three hours later, shots rang out around the corner from the scene of the outdoor roll call, and a 26-year-old gang member was shot twice in the chest. It happened in the 1900 block of Birchwood Avenue, where neighbors have lamented criminal activity on the block at recent community policing meetings.
"I know you have a very difficult duty, but we are taking back our community one step at a time," Cmdr. Melvin Collier of the Evanston Police Department said as he addressed officers from both departments.
Linze Rice discusses what neighbors want from area police:
About 5 p.m., residents of Rogers Park and bordering Evanston — who occupy some parts of the north side of Howard Street — gathered alongside police to show support.
"It's also to let the 'problem people' know the police, and the community, are focusing on the area," said Bernard Garbo, a CAPS beat facilitator and leader of Network 2424, a community group.
Another sergeant addressing officers during roll call put it more bluntly, reminding both teams they were here because "three people with ties to street gangs were shot here."
The site is Howard Food Mart, 2059 W. Howard St. — a place that neighbors, including Garbo, said has been a "gang clubhouse" for years.
On Oct. 13, three men who police say were gang members were shot just down the street at Ridge and Howard. News site Evanston Now reported two men drove off from the shooting in a car headed westbound on Howard. Police also said all three victims fled for help in different directions, including inside Howard Food Mart.
Rogers Park District Cmdr. Roberto Nieves said his officers were in contact with Evanston's police department "on a daily basis," and have formed a "strong partnership" along the city's Far North Side.
For gang members and other criminals who believe they can escape from Evanston to Chicago or vice versa, Nieves said he had bad news: "They can't just cross the street to avoid us. We want citizens and gangs to be aware that Evanston can easily reach across — and does," he said.
Garbo said both he and Evanston neighbors have tried for years to get the convenience store shut down, and expressed frustration with the store management's failure to keep its promises to obey the law.
When unsavory groups begin to feel the heat of law enforcement at the store, they maneuver behind the small strip mall and lie low at improperly managed apartment buildings between Seeley and Hoyne on nearby Birchwood Avenue, Garbo said.
Over the years, other problem businesses along Howard Street have come up from both sides of the border.
Evanston's city government said in 2012 that city and police officials from both Rogers Park and Evanston had been meeting with residents over the troubled Howard Street business, with Evanston's Ald. Ann Rainey saying of the food mart, "I fear that reform is probably unlikely and that closure might be the only option to improve this section of Howard Street."
A year later, however, Rainey said the street was a "success" and that there were no "slums north of Howard anymore" while speaking about crime on a local TV show segment.
Neighbors said the store had been temporarily shut down. No employees or managers were present and the door was locked Wednesday evening.
Howard Food Mart, 2059 W. Howard St., has been a longtime "gang clubhouse" in the neighborhood and neighbors have filed complaints with the city to have it shut down, neighbors said. [DNAinfo/Linze Rice]
Though Garbo said crime on Howard was once the "epicenter of problems" in the community, "residual" crime still stings the area. At least two other people have been shot this year in the 1900 and 2000 blocks of Birchwood Avenue.
Sue Jones, an eight-year resident of the neighborhood who came to show her support Wednesday, said that while she felt "pretty safe" in the neighborhood, she was warned by her mail carrier a few months ago to avoid groups of people standing near Howard and Hoyne.
Jones said she was told not to "linger near groups" because she could get caught in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting.
"I was dumbfounded," Jones said, adding she regularly sees large groups of people congregating on the corner.
Jones said for her first time at a police roll call, she felt happy to see about 10 to 15 of her fellow neighbors showing they were unafraid to demonstrate their presence and solidarity in the community.
Ultimately, Nieves says part of the reason behind holding a joint public roll call was not just for the community, but also his own officers.
"It's also to remind law enforcement, we too are part of the fabric of the community, we live here too," he said, adding there can sometimes be a frustrating misconception that the only role of police is to punish people.
"You don't have to come to us only when there's something bad, you can come to us even when it's good," Nieves said.
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