CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) – The Waukegan police chief announced new procedures concerning juveniles following the mistaken arrest of a 15-year-old boy at school.
The teenager was arrested at school and was locked up in what turned out to be a case of mistaken identity in an attempted murder investigation.
The boy confessed to the crime and was held for two days despite his innocence.
“The police department has to do better. I fully believe that. We have to do better,” Interim Police Chief Keith Zupec said at a city council meeting.
Kevin O’Connor, who is the attorney for the boy’s family, said, “Unfortunately, this young man did not have the ability to fight off whatever was coming at him and confessed to a crime he didn’t commit.”
O’Connor said the state’s attorney told the family, if there weren’t video evidence that showed the boy couldn’t have committed the crime, he’d probably have gone to prison.
The chief said police are no longer going to arrest juveniles in schools and they will not question juveniles without a parent, guardian or attorney present.
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