Jim Gannon said his capture of a bank robbery suspect in Homewood on Friday, Sept. 23, was just luck.
Gannon, chief investigator for the Cook County Sheriff’s Merit Board, is a retired Homewood police officer and currently a Homewood reserve officer. He was walking home from the Metra station about 4 p.m. when he noticed news helicopters hovering over town.
Then he saw about 15 police vehicles from various south suburban departments go past, and he began to think something serious had happened.
“As I approached Cedar Road, a tall male I did not recognize as a neighbor came running out from between two homes,” he said. “My 42 years of police training allowed to quickly assess the situation.”
Gannon said he drew his weapon and ordered the man to get on the ground. After a second command, the man complied.
A neighbor arrived to see if Gannon needed help, and Gannon asked him to call 911. Much to his relief, a Homewood detective quickly arrived and handcuffed the suspect, Gannon said.
It wasn’t until after the suspect had been secured in a police vehicle that Gannon learned the nature of the alleged crime.
Jordan Hawkins, 26, of Riverdale, was charged with robbing the BMO Harris Bank branch at 4940 W. 211th St., according to a Daily Southtown report.
Hawkins was apprehended after the car he was driving crashed into another vehicle at a tollbooth on Interstate 80 while trying to elude police. Hawkins allegedly pointed a gun at tellers during the robbery and tried to kick in the door of a Homewood residence before he was apprehended.
Gannon said he was very grateful for the quick response by Homewood police and for the assistance from his neighbor.
“My neighbor was kind enough to pick up my brief case and shopping bag I dropped in the street, preventing them from being run over by the arriving police vehicles,” Gannon said.
Gannon, who retired as Homewood deputy police chief in 2009 after 35 years on the force, attributed his reaction in the situation, and the fortunate outcome, to his training.
“Homewood trains and trains and trains. I reacted the way I was trained, and i did not overreact to the intensity of the situation,” he said.
Homewood police posted a news release later that day noting that the suspect had been apprehended.