Oak Park police showed restraint but lacked adequate planning during the Halloween 2025 teen takeover on Lake Street, according to a 30-page consultant report obtained by the Wednesday Journal through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The report, first reported by the Wednesday Journal, was prepared by consulting firm Jensen Hughes and sent to Village Manager Kevin Jackson on Aug. 4. It had been circulating among village staff for about two months before becoming public.

Jensen Hughes found that Oak Park Police Department officers handled the Oct. 31, 2025, disturbance professionally, targeting specific unlawful behavior rather than making mass arrests. The review credited officers with avoiding the serious injuries and property damage other communities have experienced during similar incidents. The firm also found the department fell short on preparation, saying OPPD needed better advance planning and lacked protocols for producing after-incident reports.

The disturbance began around 7:50 p.m. when a fight broke out inside the Chipotle Grill at 1128 Lake St. Tables were overturned and chairs thrown at officers, according to the report. By 7:56 p.m., one officer identified the situation as a teen takeover.

Over the next half-hour, officers broke up at least six fights near Lake Street and Marion Street. Oak Park requested help from the Cook County Sheriff's Office. None came. After reports of shots fired on Forest Avenue, the on-site commander radioed the dispatch center: "Berwyn, Riverside, anybody you got — need Lake Street shut down."

Officers from Forest Park, River Forest, Berwyn, Cicero, Melrose Park, Forest View and Maywood responded within minutes. Two Oak Park officers retrieved service rifles after the shots-fired reports. A River Forest officer fired pepper balls at the pavement twice to disperse crowds.

Chief Shatonya Johnson ordered officers to push the crowd east on Lake Street at 8:24 p.m. By 9:45 p.m., the crowd reached Austin Boulevard, where Chicago police took over.

OPPD command staff had anticipated trouble. Four day-shift officers were held over to bolster the night patrol. Johnson and the investigations commander also stayed on duty.

The report found no Incident Command log was kept that night, calling such documentation a best practice. Jensen Hughes recommended the department expand intelligence-sharing agreements with other police departments and update its 1985 Mutual Aid Agreement with River Forest and Forest Park.

Johnson declined to discuss the mutual aid recommendation with the Wednesday Journal, saying she could not address it with media. She said the department monitors social media but found no advance warning of the takeover.

"We welcome the recommendations from Jensen and Hughes," Johnson told the Wednesday Journal. "Our officers did what they were supposed to do, keep the community safe and participants safe."

The Citizens Police Oversight Committee (CPOC) is scheduled to discuss the report at its Monday, Oct. 19, meeting. The Village Board meets Tuesday, Oct. 20, though no agenda has been posted.