Homewood police officers, with help from officers of nearby communities, dispersed the crowd of several hundred young people gathered in Homewood’s Irwin Park on Halloween evening, Oct. 31, apparently in response to a flier posted on social media announcing a “takeover” of the park. 

On Monday, Nov. 3, the Homewood Police Department posted a statement by email and social media to explain the situation.

Police said officers observed more than 400 teens in and near the park with no adult supervision. A majority of the teens contacted by officers were from outside Homewood or Flossmoor.

“Some individuals in the group wore full  costumes, while others only wore masks that concealed their identity, adding to safety concerns,” the statement read. “There was no sanctioned or organized event scheduled at Irwin Park that evening.

“Due to the unusually large number of unsupervised individuals congregating, combined with concerns stemming from similar incidents over the summer months, the decision was made to close the park for the remainder of the evening in the interest of public safety.”

Incidents during summer months included conflicts among teens gathered at the park, some of which escalated to physical altercations.

“There were some instances when teens initiated fights in the direct presence of police officers,” police said. “These incidents resulted in disturbances, minor injuries, and raised significant safety concerns for both participants, nearby residents and business owners. Given these prior events, the department acted proactively on Halloween to prevent a repeat of those situations.”

The statement did not indicate whether there were any fights associated with the gathering on Oct. 31, and Homewood police have not responded to four email messages from the Chronicle asking for additional details.

The crowd dispersed peacefully, police said.

The Homewood Police Department will continue to monitor community gathering spots and will be working with local schools, parents, and community organizations to encourage safe and positive activities for youth.

At the Tuesday, Nov. 4, Homewood-Flossmoor Park District Board of Commissioners meeting, Executive Director Doug Boehm addressed the incident.

“First of all, huge thank you to the Village of Homewood and the police for their assistance,” he said. “We’re thrilled to be partners with them. They did a tremendous job.”

Park Board President Brent Bachus said he reached out to Homewood Mayor Rich Hofeld that night, and Boehm reached out to Village Manager Napoleon Haney to discuss the situation.

“The Homewood Police nipped it in the bud right away,” Bachus said. “To me, it was handled professionally and well. We’re super lucky and thankful.”

A number of commenters on social media assumed the teens were dispersed because the park closes at dusk, but park district officials clarified that while most parks close at dusk, Irwin Park closes at 11 p.m. because it is on a main thoroughfare, Ridge Road, and it’s relatively well lit. 

Park district policies are designed to ensure everyone who is behaving appropriately can enjoy the parks.

“There is an underage curfew which the police addressed in their statement. We support that.

“I was out there from 5:30 to 6:30 (p.m.) and there was nothing going on,” Boehm said. “All of a sudden 400 to 500 kids show up. Ridge Road was chaos. You couldn’t find a place to park. It was dark.”

Boehm noted that some district residents have been asking for a teen center to be created, but he said the event on Halloween night wasn’t spearheaded by people lobbying for center.

“It was an outside group that said meet here and it took off. There was nothing (sanctioned) by the parks,” he said.