"Probably over 30" arrested as police follow hundreds of "young people" in downtown Chicago, crowded Millennium Park crowds



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Hundreds of students and about 200 officers walked the busy streets Wednesday night in downtown Chicago.

While large groups of young people, many of them high school students, crossed the Loop and the Near North Side, they exploded in many fights. corner of State and Lake streets after 9pm Detailed information on the arrested persons has not been published.

"The challenge is to ensure public safety," said Waller.

Waller said that there were probably about 500 teenagers traveling through the city. Shortly after 9 pm, police lined up in the middle of State Street, outside the Chicago Theater. More than a dozen bike officers surrounded the teens and sounded their sirens. About 15 minutes later, a large group found themselves at the corner of Stake and Lake Streets, while two women posed for a picture in front of the Chicago Theater marquee.

"When they run like this, someone starts a fight," said Waller.

The police's strategy was to be very tolerant: talk to the kids and get the crowd on public transit, Waller said.

"And people who completely disobeyed the law had to be arrested," he said.

Arrests have been made for disobeying orders of dispersal and intrusion, Waller said. Aside from bruises and bumps, no injuries were reported, he said.

Waller spoke of the socio-economic challenges facing Chicago and the search for other modes of entertainment for teens. He praised the officers' response: "They are so tolerant of these disrespectful children, cursing them, saying what they say.

"We have taken up this challenge in recent years by developing different strategies and trying to intervene," said Waller.

At approximately 9:30 pm, just after Waller spoke to the media, there was a tense tension between the teens and the police outside Potbelly, as police scrambled into the center of the crowd. A large group ran from the corner outside the Potbelly to The Wit Hotel, located at 201 N. State St., which led to several more arrests.

Around 9:40 pm, a large group passed through a crowded McCormick & Schmick patio, 1 E. Wacker Drive.

"It looks like they're going to a party," said a man who watched the crowd as he crossed the street.

A large group of students headed to the State / Lake Red Line station outside the Chicago Theater around 10 pm.

"Beat him, go home," said an officer.

Earlier in the night, the third day of the Chicago Public Schools' Spring Break, a large group of teenagers gathered at Millennium Park. The police took the teenagers out of the park after several fights.

Jon Palak, 32, from Andersonville, was sitting outside Sweetwater Tavern and Grille as a bunch of kids approached the North Michigan Avenue restaurant.

"We have no idea what has happened," Palak said.

Security guards were standing outside the Nederlander Theater on West Randolph Street, and McDonald's in Dearborn Street, further west, was locked. Around 8:45 pm, a large group passed the Goodman Theater as traffic flowed through the surrounding streets. Less than 10 minutes later, screams broke out in the nearby subway as more than 50 teenagers came in and out of the area.

The pedestrians who were in the middle of the itinerant groups asked the police what was happening and waited for the groups to pass.

Pedro Lisbao, 30, of Streeterville, was with friends near Lake and Dearborn streets. Lisbao, who is Brazilian, said the massive police presence made him nervous and reminded him of the Brazilian children affected by the social fracture who frequented the shopping centers. "People are standing and walking, but there are so many police," he said.

"We saw a very large number of police officers, and then a large number of children," Lisbao said.

Children "ran everywhere, and that's what kids do," Lisbao said. "It seemed like the cops were waiting for them. So, I guess that's what we do not understand.

"We will wait for the dust to dissipate," he said.

For about a decade, the Chicago Police regularly treats a crowd of teenagers who invade the downtown area to spend time along the lake, Water Tower Place, Millennium Park or other places when the time begins to heat up.

The police also had the difficult task of alleviating the unrest that is happening among this crowd in a part of the city that houses the central business district and attracts tourists from around the world.

There have often been instances where the crowd has turned out to be a nuisance to the police, some teens arguing, vandalizing property and indulging in shoplifting or other theft crimes.

Police officials have implemented strategies under the administrations of previous departments to deal with mob mob incidents, which are often coordinated via SMS or social networking sites, in the city center and nearby neighborhoods. Police said that in many cases, youth from downtown and the central-west used public transportation.

Police, however, pointed out that this phenomenon, involving large groups of teenagers, was not unique to Chicago. Philadelphia has problems with teenage crowds, who have also used social media technology, attacking pedestrians and vandalizing property since at least 2010, according to media reports.

Jeremy Gorner from Chicago Tribune contributed.

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