Police Officers On Horses, Bikes And ATVs Will Be Patrolling The Beaches This Summer

By Stephen Gossett in News on Jun 9, 2016 4:52PM

The Chicago Police Department announced Wednesday plans for a new Summer Mobile Patrol. Officers will respond to calls and patrol parks and beaches on horseback, bicycles and ATV as a way to combat the expected rise in violent crime that comes with the summer months.

The unit—which will include officers from every CPD unit—will begin patrol later this month and operate through Labor Day, superintendent Eddie Johnson stated in a press conference.

The announcement came roughly a week after a Memorial Day weekend that saw a major brawl at North Avenue Beach and another on Friday. Beachgoers also left behind heaps of trash that same weekend. (The initiative was in the works prior to May 30, Johnson said.) More recently, police arrested a man Monday night for attempting to shoot another man at Oak Street Beach.

The initiative appears similar to a special unit that was previously disbanded by former superintendent Garry McCarthy in 2011. You can surely expect a crackdown on alcohol, so maybe save the beach boozin' for one of the beachfront cafes.