Death investigation with MCAT on scene at Motel 6 on West Algonquin Rd, Arlington Heights.
Arlington Heights police report that on Thursday, July 9, 2015, at approximately 1:00 p.m., the Arlington Heights Police Department responded to the Motel 6 at 441 West Algonquin Road for a death investigation.
Upon arrival, police say that two police officers discovered two deceased adults in their hotel room. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office and the Major Case Assistance Team are assisting with this investigation.
Word from witnesses on the street is that a male and a female were found dead.
Police reported last night and this morning that they would not release any other information “at this time.”
The lack of information reveals a lot about how the Village of Arlington Heights manages crime scenes with regard to public information.
The Arlington Heights Police Department did not commit themselves to reporting that there was no specific threat at large. This could mean they don’t know with certainty that there is no threat “at large” or they simply neglected to reassure the public that there is no threat believed to be at large. It could also mean police believe they are investigating a murder-suicide, but have decided to wait for a confirmation from the investigation.
Arlington Heights police did not reveal the apparent cause of death of the two people. Were two people shot, stabbed or found unresponsive after apparent drug overdoses?
Police did not mention even a slight reference regarding how the bodies were found. Did housekeeping find the bodies? Did guests find the bodies? Did another law enforcement agency find the bodies while on an investigation?
Police mentioned they were called for a death investigation at about 1:00 p.m. The statement leads one to believe that an official law enforcement officer possibly reported the discovery of obviously deceased individuals. Otherwise, the wording might have stated, “police responded to the report of two people unresponsive.” In other words, the general public doesn’t call the police for a “death investigation” when 9-1-1 is called.
Additionally there was no public radio dispatch of firefighter/paramedics to the Motel 6 detected from 12:35 p.m. to 2:05 p.m. If hotel employees called 9-1-1 and reported two people obviously dead at the scene, firefighter/paramedics would still be dispatched — mainly because the general public is not considered reliable to determine whether found victims’ lives are beyond saving.
Witnesses first noticed police activity at about 1:20 p.m. Thursday.
Police investigators focused effort on a dumpster in the southeast corner of the property. Although one guest of the Motel 6 stated police were searching for a murder weapon in the dumpster in a media interview, dumpster searches are routine at violent crime scenes. Police could also have been searching for any evidence that might indicate circumstances that led to a murder/suicide — a note, a receipt, etc.
The dumpster was under police guard before the Major Case Assistance Team arrived. The bodies are apparently somewhere in a west wing — north-centrally located in the Motel 6 complex — just north of the west parking lot.
After the Major Case Assistance Team arrived, police also set up crime scene tape at the very front parking lot. The yellow crime scene tape surrounded two Arlington Heights police cars and an apparent civilian SUV parked facing north.
While numerous crimes related to prostitution, strong arm robberies, illegal drugs, batteries, trespassing, and theft occur in this area of Arlington Heights along Algonquin Road, many of these crimes go unreported in Citizen Observer or the official police twitter account.
Arlington Heights police neglect to report many arrests. There are at least two prisoners in jail today, but no word on any recent arrests recently in the official police Twitter account or Citizen Observer.
Several employees that work at neighboring businesses near the Motel 6 shared that they see a multitude of “shady operations” and “shady characters” near the Motel 6 almost every day. They also shared that the police frequently patrol the area, and that police activity is common at the Motel 6.
IMPORTANT ALERT …
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 secret military-grade 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, such as when desperate offenders of property crimes are eluding police. 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.
Lack of real time information from police dispatch also delays public awareness or eliminates public awareness of general hazards and traffic or other situations in every day living in an otherwise economically thriving community.
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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