Mass arrests took place late Sunday night on the city's North Side as people were reportedly jumping onto cars and throwing bottles at police overnight, hours after the city's Pride parade.
The Chicago Pride parade ended around 1 p.m. Sunday, and the mass arrests took place beginning at about 1:23 a.m. in the 3000 block of North Clark Street near Halsted in Lakeview, police said, meaning there was a 10 to 11 hour separation between Pride celebrations and these incidents.
Police said a total of 53 people were arrested, including nine juveniles, and four firearms were recovered. Six people were cited for obstructing traffic, six people cited for disorderly conduct and one person was cited for both obstructing traffic and disorderly conduct, police said. One person was arrested on an outstanding warrant.
CPD said 24 people were charged with various misdemeanors including reckless conduct, battery, assault, resisting or obstructing an officer, and criminal damage to property, and 14 people, including four minors, were charged with felonies, including gun charges. Charges are still pending against two people, Chicago police said.
While the 53rd annual Chicago Pride Parade ended between 1 and 2 p.m., late in the day police flooded the area near Clark and Belmont for reports of people fighting on a bus. There were also multiple reports of people dancing on CTA buses and crowds moving on the side streets.
"The parade was done, hours and hours [ago] and this was still happening the whole day, and I think they were just trying to encourage people to go home," said resident Meredith Maiorana. "People were just partying and it was obvious people were intoxicated and just being loud and being rambunctious there were people like doing some kind of club dancing. It was pretty wild."
"It wasn't people that were celebrating Pride," Tizok Garcia, a witness to the incident said. "It was also something that I think was a detriment to what this is all about as a whole."
"Like are those party buses or those CTA buses because they were literally people like not just one, not just two. We're talking 20, 30 people on two buses dancing like it was a dance floor. It was insane," said Chris Karountzos, owner of Modern Grill.
Karountzos said when the Pride Parade ended, chaos ensued, and she had to put up wood panels to keep people from breaking the windows.
"I hate this route. I've complained about being in the middle of this route," she said.
Her family has owned the restaurant since the 1960s, and said the parade itself is great, it's just the aftermath that's become added stress.
"The police were here, they were in force. I couldn't believe they had helicopters, how many police were here, but like I said, it used to be fun. It's no longer fun," she said.
Video from Clark and Belmont around 1:30 a.m. shows the chaos as people partied into the night, long after Pride celebrations were over.
But others said the police presence was unnecessary.
"I would go as far to say there should be no cops at Pride," said Lakeview resident Ethan Schatz.
He said the heavy police presence took away from the spirit of pride.
"Really scary, the amount of police that were everywhere," he said. "Every party is going to have some risk factors."
44th Ward Alderman Bennett Lawson expressed his disappointment in a statement:
"Following the Parade's conclusion, I was extremely disappointed to see disruptive actions in our neighborhood into the early morning hours. I am grateful to the Chicago Police Department for their quick and decisive action to limit any damage and keep people safe, and to the Streets and Sanitation Department for their great work to clean our neighborhood. I look forward to meeting with City departments and stakeholders in the coming days to discuss how we can continue to improve the Parade for participants, attendees and neighbors, and prevent these disturbing actions from occurring in the future, " Lawson said.
Karountzos said it's not the police but people who disrespect those working during Pride that take away from what is meant to be a joyful day.
"We want to have fun. I think our versions of fun are just two completely different things. And I don't think that that it's fair, I guess the old [phrase], it takes one bad apple to ruin it," she said.
Pride Chicago released a statement, saying, "The Chicago Pride Parade, which ended safely at 2 p.m., was full of celebration and joy. Our all-volunteer organization is humbled by the overwhelming positive feedback we've received from participants and spectators, who were part of the parade festivities during the day."
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