Textbook de-escalation by police officers and hospital security personnel during interaction with a shirtless, barefoot, muscular heavyweight male causing a disturbance in the “Ambulance Bay” — an unauthorized area of the Emergency Department at Northwest Community Healthcare on Friday, May 24, 2024 (CARDINAL NEWS). YouTube Tips ⓘ
Police officers from Arlington Heights responded about 12:09 p.m. Friday, May 24, 2024 to an incident involving a male causing a disturbance at the Emergency Room at Northwest Community Healthcare, 800 West Central Road in Arlington Heights.
Approximately 90 minutes earlier Rolling Meadows police were investigating a possible personal injury hit-and-run crash, ranging in an area along Kirchoff Road from Hicks Road near the Marathon gas station to Plum Grove and DuPont Avenue in Rolling Meadows.
One or two crashes involved at least a gray Chrysler and a Kia. Damaged vehicles were discovered near the Marathon gas station, 4200 Kirchoff Road and near the intersection of Plum Grove Road and DuPont Avenue in Rolling Meadows.
A witness passing by near Kirchoff Road and DuPont Avenue saw a heavyset male/black subject, possibly in handcuffs, at the crash scene at Kirchoff Road and DuPont Avenue. The large male, built like a heavyweight boxer, was transported by ambulance to Northwest Community Healthcare in Arlington Heights with two Rolling Meadows police vehicles following the ambulance.
Approximately one hour later, the male transported from the Rolling Meadows crash scene, was allegedly causing a disturbance in the Northwest Community Healthcare Emergency Department. Interaction with the individual moved outside to the “Ambulance Only” bay — an area for authorized personnel where ambulances are parked while transferring patients to the hospital. The muscular, heavyweight male/black was only wearing white short — no shirt and barefoot.
At least one paramedic crew arriving with a patient in their ambulance from another village from an unrelated call was delayed for a short time off-loading their patient because of the disturbance.
Several officers arrived from Arlington Heights and Rolling Meadows were already on scene by 12:30 p.m. and were working to de-escalate the situation. The Emergency Room “Ambulance Bay” was declared closed temporarily while police were working to resolve the situation. Paramedics arriving with patients were instructed to arrive at a different entrance to the hospital.
The professional police interaction with the unruly subject was captured on video by CARDINAL NEWS. Several police officers were also wearing body cams.
At one point, about 1:25 p.m., it appeared that a Rolling Meadows police officer arrived in a silver police SUV and delivered a cellphone to an Arlington Heights police officer, who gave the phone to the heavyset male. The male was then allowed to have a conversation on the cell phone in the “Ambulance Bay” at the Emergency Department.
During the entire standoff with the male, the police did not display any intimidating body language, and were carefully listening — even at times when the unruly subject advanced his face just inches from police officers’ faces while yelling at them. There appeared to be some slight shoving, contact, or near contact by the subject with police officers. It was when the subject chest-butted a hospital security employee that police detained the male, and handcuffed him with double-linked handcuffs. The male subject did not resist when he was handcuffed. He was then transferred to an Arlington Heights police SUV, and transported to Arlington Heights Police Department headquarters. Although, initially there is no official announcement from the Arlington Heights Police Department, the subject was likely — at a minimum — charged with some type of battery.
Full details regarding charges, are unknown at the time of this report.
The “Ambulance Bay” was re-opened for full service for the ambulances by about 1:40 p.m. Friday.
LIVE TRAFFIC MAP AT SECOND CRASH SCENE IN ROLLING MEADOWS KIRCHOFF/DUPONT …
The information in this article is an early report published before any summary information was confirmed or released by police or fire authorities.
DEVELOPING IF CONTENT IS AVAILABLE …
Stay informed with news from The Cardinal’s Emergencies Behind the Scenes Facebook page — Facebook.com/CardinalEmergencies. Includes links to favorite public safety and emergency rescuers and product manufacturers and safety companies that have facebook pages. Submit your pictures or just stay up-to-date on with fire, rescue, EMS and police photo galleries. Please add your public safety photo to the wall album — go direct to the Arlington Cardinal Emergencies Behind the Scenes photos. For a list of all of The Cardinal Facebook fan pages, go to Arlingtoncardinal.com/about/facebook …
Help fund The Cardinal Arlingtoncardinal.com/sponsor