Flyers were put on everyone's door here at:
Villagebrook Apartments
278 East Saint Charles Road
Carol Stream IL 60188
Regarding a meeting with:
Carol Stream Police Department
500 North Gary Avenue
Carol Stream IL 60188
This is what the flyer said:
VILLAGEBROOK APARTMENTS'
COMMUNITY MEETING
The Carol Stream Police Department invites you to attend an informational meeting. The presentation will cover recent Villagebrook Apartment events, the community policing philosophy, crime prevention and available services.
Location: Villagebrook Apartments Community Center
278 E. St. Charles Road
When: Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM
At the meeting they served food and drinks. I attended the meeting for about the first half hour but then I had to leave. In that half hour the Carol Stream Police mentioned an incident that happened here at Villagebrook Apartments that involved 6 arrests and a police shooting. The officer said that the bullets whizzed right by the heads of some children that live here. These children live in entrance 256 apartment GD according to a neighbor who did community watch.
A neighbor told me that the shots were even here at the entrance I live in which is:
256 East Saint Charles Road
Carol Stream IL 60188
This neighbor also said that some shots were shot up in the air and came close to the window of my neighbor in entrance 256 apartment 2D. I live in the same entrance 256 apartment 2B.
Villagebrook Apartments is a complex with over 100 apartments. Most of the people that live here are black single mothers with young children. Most of them are on section 8. I have lived here since September of 1994. I am a single mother and I have an 18 year old son.
In the meeting, the police were telling us to call them if we see anything wrong in the neighborhood. They talked about how they never get any calls from the residents here. But, that is not true. I have called the police on several occasions. Initially they responded by coming to my door. But, then they would not respond or they would show up more than an hour late. The last time I called the police one officer showed up and tried to kick in my door and beat off the doorknob.
I have had some previous run-ins with the police such as traffic tickets. One time they issued me at least four tickets for the same offense and I had to go to court about it. I thought that you could not be tried twice for the same offense according to the Constitution:
Amendment V
...nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb...
It was for not having a city sticker on my car windshield. I explained to the judge that I would pay if I had the money but could not pay due to unemployment. He said I still had to pay the tickets. On one of the tickets the judge started to write other charges also but when he asked me if I had other charges as well. I responded to him and said I knew nothing of any other charges. He said "Oh, I must have mixed up your case with someone else's." Things got so bad with the police giving me tickets that I finally had to sell my car so they would not issue me anymore tickets. I also offered to do community service to pay off the tickets but the lady I spoke to on the phone at the district court house said that they "were not going to let me get off free."
The meeting tonight was an effort by the police to try and smooth things over with the residents here at Villagebrook Apartments. They were being extra nice to everyone that showed up to the meeting. Even the property manager, Angel L. Swan, was at the meeting. She was being particularly nice to me which I found odd being that I have 2 pink slips in my resident file here at the management office. Once you get 3 pink slips, they evict you. She offered for me to sit at the front of the meeting were the police were but I opted to sit in the back of the room.
I thought about the meeting and how nice everyone seemed and asked myself why was everyone being so nice? I think they are afraid of getting attention to the way they police the community especially here at Villagebrook Apartments.
Living here at Villagebrook Apartments is getting dangerous not because of the criminal activity in the complex but because of the Carol Stream Police.
