PEORIA, Ill. – In the wake of the recent shooting death of a 15-year-old boy and other violent crimes involving teens in Peoria, the police chief says the incidents are taking a toll on his officers.
Peoria Police Chief Eric Echevarria tells WMBD’s “Greg and Dan” that seeing these kids get arrested, back out on the streets, only to be arrested again, “is so frustrating and disheartening for them. To see someone after they’ve done all this work to get them off the streets, it’s a no win situation. If we go in, we’re too tough, if we don’t go in, where’s the cops?”
In a statement Monday, Echevarria said Illinois’ justice system is broken. He also said Peoria does have a parenting problem when it comes to some juvenile offenders.
In many cases, these crimes are a symptom of a troubled home life, but that parents aren’t necessarily to blame.
But, crimes like the shooting death of 15-year-old Keyaun Hardimon on October 1, are traumatic for his officers too.
“We keep an eye on our officers, we give them some time off. Obviously, we have a great EAP (Employee Assistance Program). We do have a chaplain, and we try to do everything we can to help them cope,” Echevarria says.
The police chief says Illinois’ juvenile detention system needs to be examined, reformed, and rebuilt. And, that our legislators in Springfield have to make that happen for these violent crimes to end.
But, Echevarria also says the community has to be involved in the change too.
“You all are seeing it, you all are hearing about it, and you all are feeling it. You’re connected somehow to these incidents. Whether it’s a friend of a friend, whether you’re just a citizen who lives in the city….this bothers us. And, I think it’s time for everyone to lift up their voices.” Echevarria says.
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