In the week since a gunshot rang out in the middle of the day at Yorktown Center in Lombard, the incident has sparked reviews of police procedures and the mall’s security force, a group of private armed guards who have patrolled the center’s corridors since its opening in the 1960s.
A man accused of disorderly conduct was being escorted out of the shopping mall March 22 when he took a revolver from the holster of a Yorktown security officer and fired a round as he was being tackled, authorities said. It was the first time a mall guard’s sidearm had been discharged at Yorktown.
The bullet lodged in a wall of a vacant shoe store. No one was injured.
Lombard police leaders, who will require all village officers to wear bulletproof vests in the wake of the incident, said this week they support the Yorktown security contingent. But some on the force are asking whether the private security officers should lower their profile and perhaps disarm.
Jim Romano, vice president of operations at Yorktown, said the use of firearms by the dozen or so security officers at the mall will be reviewed. He said the team’s practices of wearing police uniforms, driving marked sedans with red and blue lights and carrying weapons date to the mall’s opening in 1968.
He said the center opened as the nation’s largest enclosed shopping facility and the decision to set up an aggressive security force was made early on.
“From Day 1, we’ve had a relationship with Lombard police,” said Romano, who acknowledged that most local malls do not have armed security. “When you drop a 1.5-million-square-foot supermall into a small suburban community, how does the police force respond?”
Romano said a choice was made to ensure safety at the center. The mall’s guards have been trained by Lombard police personnel in arrest procedures and the use of firearms.
“We want to provide a very secure atmosphere for our shoppers and employees,” he said.
Mall officials said a Lombard officer was present when Levon Murphy, 40, of Villa Park allegedly got out of hand last week. Murphy faces multiple charges.
That fact has not escaped police leaders, who said the incident will be reviewed over the next several weeks. Police said the suspect showed signs he was not going to cooperate with the arresting police officer, yet he was not handcuffed.
“We’ll be looking at this as we would any incident where a gun goes off,” said Lombard Police Chief Leon Kutzke, who added that he would not be in favor of a mall administration decision to disarm the security force.
“I don’t know of anything in this incident that calls for disarming them,” Kutzke said. “Police officers from time to time have their weapons taken from them–it’s a training issue. Without sidearms they become floorwalkers, and that’s not going to be helpful for us.”
Kutzke said Lombard police always have had a good working relationship with the mall officers. He added that he is not considering placing a Lombard beat officer in the mall.
Some Lombard police leaders said they are aware of a few people in the department’s ranks who would like to see the security force take a softer approach. At least one member of the Police Department said last week’s incident is a signal that a uniformed Yorktown officer who leaves the center to fuel a car that looks like a police cruiser could become entangled in a police incident he or she is not trained to handle.
“One of these days someone in an emergency situation is going to think these guys are the real police,” said the officer, who requested that his name not be used. “They’re not.”
Romano called that argument a questionable one. Yorktown officers fuel their vehicles “a half-block away,” he said, and have offered services such as help with flat tires and keys locked in cars while away from Yorktown.
Romano said a Yorktown officer happening upon a serious incident while off mall property would be able to call for help. The guards have the ability to communicate quickly with roving Lombard squad cars.
“If you’re being attacked, wouldn’t you want someone to help you?” Romano said.
Kutzke said Yorktown officers who have followed theft suspects off mall property have acted appropriately, calling Lombard police immediately.
