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player ready...The Crete Police Department has petitioned the Will County state’s attorney’s office for charges against 20 juveniles involved in a series of fights at Crete-Monee High School on May 12, Chief Scott Pieritz said in a news release Thursday.
That day, “Crete-Monee High School had multiple fights occur which resulted in a chaotic, dangerous environment. This played out on social media, with videos being shared and causing community uproar and disharmony,” Pieritz said in the release.
He said the 20 juveniles would be petitioned for “crimes including disorderly conduct, battery, and mob action.”
Pieritz said recent “teen takeover” occurrences showed it was important to arrest and prosecute juvenile offenders in similar incidents.
Most recently, one such gathering in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood over Memorial Day weekend led to dozens of arrests and a shooting that wounded three, according to Chicago police.
“We have all seen the “teen takeover” mobs occurring around the country,” Pieritz said. “We cannot and will not allow that mentality to take root in our town.”
Pieritz also released a letter addressed to the Will County state’s attorney’s office, urging that charges be filed due to the severity of the May 12 chaos.
“I find it necessary to write this letter due to the seriousness of this incident, the public safety concern for all students and staff of the Crete-Monee High School, a deterrent against future violent and disruptive acts, and for the retention of public confidence in the police department restoring order in the school,” Pieritz wrote to the state’s attorney’s office.
A security guard was injured and went to the hospital, Pieritz said, and misinformation was spread widely on social media, including claims that weapons were present and that a student had been thrown over a balcony.
“This caused a frenzy of responses on social media including those questioning the safety of students in Crete schools, disparaging remarks about the school administration, village of Crete, and police department,” Pieritz said.
The state’s attorney’s office said in a statement that the case is currently being processed, and that it has not yet received materials for review.
“We have a strong and longstanding working relationship with the Village of Crete Department of Police and Chief Pieritz,” the state’s attorney’s office said in its statement. “As with any case, we will conduct an independent review of the facts, evidence, and applicable law once the matter is formally presented to us.”
It would be inappropriate to comment further until that review is complete, the state’s attorney’s office said.
The police department ordinarily aims to defer disciplinary issues at schools to staff for resolution rather than taking punitive action, Pieritz said.
“This incident in no way represents the vast majority of students at the high school, who I know to be good kids, just trying to navigate their teenage years,” Pieritz said.