Arlington Heights police car staged at the scene of a possible domestic gun threat on North Patton Avenue near the intersection of Kennicott Avenu and Lynnwood Avenue Wednesday evening. [Photo view is south on Kennicott Avenue at Patton Avenue/Lynnwood Avenue.]
Arlington Heights police responded just before 6:00 PM Wednesday to a report of a domestic threat involving a gun in the block of 1500 North Patton Avenue Arlington Heights, IL. Police received a report that an elderly man was involved in some type of threat involving a gun.
Neighbors reported there is a younger male in his 30s or 40s that is the older man’s son, who might still live at the house on the west side of Patton Avenue.
Several police officers carrying long guns were seen in the neighborhood. One resident in the neighborhood was told to get back in his house when he came out to see why a police officer with an “M-16 type rifle” was in his front yard. Another neighbor saw an elderly man in handcuffs about 6:30 p.m.
The incident appeared to be resolved by about 6:20 p.m. Police were returning to their squad cars and putting their long guns away.
Firefighter/paramedics were called to the scene about 6:30 p.m. and paramedics left the scene about 6:50 p.m. — apparently transporting the man to a local hospital.
Police were armed prepared for a gun threat call on North Patton Avenue Wednesday about 6:00 p.m.
Cardinal Note: As of June 5, 2013 — up to and including the date of this article — police incidents related to the above police agency are not reported in real time or within a prompt time period. Police protecting their realm of investigation and police activity, have chosen to use encrypted radios to withhold their police communications, which were previously open to the public and news media via monitoring of public safety scanning radios — with no known negative results locally.
The delayed knowledge or entirely blacked out knowledge resulting from encrypted police communications may protect certain police operations and investigations, but it also puts the public at risk in situations such as when armed and dangerous offenders are at large and when other similar situations occur. In other cases, the delayed or blacked out information inhibits or prohibits the possibility of the public providing early witness accounts before a criminal trail goes cold. Citizens are much more likely to recognize or recall suspicious or criminal activity if they are aware of the criminal incident within minutes or hours of its occurrence. The most serious incident involving dire results would be a trail that is allowed to go cold in the case of child abduction.
The lack of real time information from public police dispatch also weakens an effective neighborhood watch program mostly working to prevent property loss, but also working to prevent possible violent crimes.
Police have alternate ways to transmit tactical, operational or investigative information, while still keeping their main public dispatch channels open for the best balance of public safety and police safety.
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