Fourth Of July A Busy Night For Chicago Cops
CHICAGO (CBS) -- With more than 100,000 people at Navy Pier alone and thousands more packing the lakefront to watch the Fourth of July fireworks, it was a busy night for Chicago Police.
Officers responded to calls for everything from fights to people setting off fireworks right along Michigan Avenue.
At 7:45 p.m., a call went out to police about teens setting off firecrackers. A dispatcher reported people firing M-80's at Chicago and State and at Pearson and Michigan.
About ten minutes after a dispatch call about 15-20 people with M-80s, a fight breaks out on the sidewalk in front Nordstrom on Michigan Avenue.
Minutes later, a call of fifty to 100 teens beating a person in the street and then crossing Lake Shore Drive at Oak Street.
From Oak and Lake Shore, the group made their way to Chestnut.
Around 8:45, an urgent call went out for officers to arrive at Michigan and Chicago with a large group fighting at Water Tower.
Chicago Police released a statement saying, "Thousands and thousands of people enjoyed the holiday festivities downtown yesterday, and the vast majority did so without incident. There were a few small, isolated incidents in which 16 arrests were made, mostly for reckless conduct."