Jan. 19--A suburban police sting that ended with an officer shooting a drug-dealing suspect has prompted questions of public safety after the bullets flew near a school.
Illinois State Police officials have launched an investigation into the undercover operation, in which officers arranged a meeting Tuesday to sell cocaine to two suspects in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant just yards from Carpentersville's Lakewood School, which was in session at the time.
"I'm upset the police would create a situation like that next to a school," said Monica Boutwell, whose 10-year-old daughter attends Lakewood. "The drug dealers could have had weapons too, and it could have gotten ugly. They should have known that. Things don't always work out the way you plan."
Authorities said the sting turned violent after the undercover officers sold a kilogram of fake cocaine to the suspects in aMcDonald'sparking lot and then revealed their true identities. At that point, Carpentersville police said, one of the suspects rammed a police car twice, slightly injuring two officers and prompting one officer to fire his weapon at the suspect, striking him as he fled.
The school was locked down after an employee saw the shooting through her window, school officials said. No injuries were reported at the school, and district officials would not say whether officers notified them ahead of time.
Community Unit School District 300 spokeswoman Allison Strupeck said a "small metal fragment" was found near a window of a classroom that contained one teacher and 25 students.
Carpentersville police Cmdr. Tim Bosshart said he did not know if the fragment was from a bullet but said it was "certainly possible" given the proximity of the school.
DePaul University law professor Leonard Cavise said he believes such high-risk stings should be outlawed near schools.
"They really should be prohibited from conducting an operation in public, high-traffic areas near children," he said. "It's just not worth it."
Sometimes police actually target school zones because suspects can face stiffer charges for drug activity within 1,000 feet of a school, Cavise said.
In this case, Bosshart said, the charges filed against one of the suspects were not enhanced by the proximity to the school. Experts, though, said a judge could take that into account at sentencing if the suspect, identified by police as Sentoro Dunn, of Rockford, is convicted.
Dunn, 40, who was apprehended at the scene, was charged Wednesday with delivery of a controlled substance, police said. He could face six to 30 years in prison.
The second suspect was taken into custody in anotherMcDonald'sparking lot after police pursued him for about 20 miles to Itasca. He remained hospitalized with a gunshot wound Wednesday at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. Police did not know the man's condition and have not charged him or revealed his identity but said charges could come upon the man's release.
In addition to Carpentersville police, officers from Addison and Streamwood also took part in the sting, Bosshart said. He declined to say whether the officer involved in the shooting has been placed on desk duty or what department the officer works for.
"When the officers are doing these things, they obviously are going to try to do what is safest, but you can't control people's behavior," Bosshart said.
Ross Rice, FBI special agent and spokesman for the agency's Chicago office, which was not involved in the sting, would not comment on the specifics of the Carpentersville case. But he said that, in general, undercover meetings take place at a mutually agreeable location.
"You always try and plan it so there's little or no risk to the public," he said. "Unfortunately, no matter what plan you come up with, something is going to go awry."
Undercover agents often must do their work in public locations, but Rice said that if undercover officers were planning to make an arrest, "we'd try to find another location" that's not near a school in session.
"We're trying to balance our accessibility and visibility and safety with concern for the public," he said.
Stings where officers make an arrest right after a meeting are "very high-risk," Rice added.
Will Taylor, special agent and public information officer of the Drug Enforcement Administration's Chicago field division, praised undercover operations.
"It is a very effective tool in the (DEA's) investigative toolbox utilized to infiltrate drug trafficking organizations," he said.
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