Latest news with #EricEchevarria
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Yahoo
Peoria Police Memorial honors fallen officers
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Peoria city officials and police gathered outside downtown to remember those who have served in law enforcement. The Peoria Police Department hosted their annual police memorial outside of city hall, in which they take the time to remember fallen officers. 'We don't want to forget that every day officers come in and put this uniform on,' said Peoria Police Chief Eric Echevarria. 'So let's not forget what they do. Let's not forget what happened in the past. We stand on their shoulders and we continue to push forward to keep our community safe.' Peoria City Council agrees to fund remaining PeoriaCorps term 15 roses were laid on the memorial stone to honor fallen Peoria officers. Echevarria explained the kind of unity all law enforcement share. 'You don this uniform on,' he said. 'Some of the uniforms may be green, some of them may be tan, some of them are blue. But, you know, at the end of the day, we're all police officers trying to do the right thing for a community. It's a very difficult job.' This is a part of National Police Week, where departments across the country take part in the same type of memorial. An awards ceremony followed the memorial service which included categories such as Livesaving, Chief's Appreciation, and Distinguished Service – Commissioned. Award winners included: 2024 Rookie of the Year Officer Terravis Ward 2024 Field Training Officer of the Year Officer Michael Wallace 2024 Supervisor of the Year Sergeant Todd Leach 2025 American Legion Meritorious Service Detective Brian Grice 2024 Officer of the Year Detective Nicholas Mason 2024 Lifesaving Awards: Officer Logan Jackson Officer Matthew Prest Officer Gavin Watland Officer Zion Whitehurst Officer Jia Zheng Officer Bryson Zolicoffer 2024 Civilian of the Year Mary Peterson 2024 Chief's Appreciation Assistant State's Attorney Terrence Muench Deputy Coroner Brandon Witt Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Yahoo
Peoria police receive autism training to enhance officer sensitivity
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — April is World Autism Awareness Month, and the Peoria Police Department using that to train officers on how to respond with sensitivity to people on the spectrum. New program from Peoria County Sherriff's department to help support people with Autism Police Chief Eric Echevarria has understood the behaviors associated with someone who is autistic long before he put on the badge. 'I grew up with a brother who is autistic,' he said. 'I see things in my life through him that prepared me as a police officer.' Commemorating the month, officers will be trained through the Autism Hero Project, an organization that is dedicated to 'drive the paradigm shift towards autism acceptance, influence positive changes in public policy, and transform the landscape of how businesses embrace diversity.' 'We want to understand that from the beginning,' the chief said about the upcoming training, 'Not necessarily at the end of a call where we've talked to somebody for a while because the officer may not be trained to understand it. 'The sooner we understand it, the sooner we can adapt to figuring out what we need to do to de-escalate and bring them down, bring in the proper person to talk to them, etc,' he added. The department has stickers on hand that people can put on the back of their cars, on the front of their doors or anywhere police would see it, which gives the officers the chance to shift their focus to understanding how to respond. Peoria Police Department handing out stickers for Autism Awareness Month Along with the stickers, a blue envelope is given out for someone who is austistic and drives. Inside the envelope would contain a photocopy of the person's driver's license, current vehicle registration and proof of insurance. The envelope also has instructions on what someone on the spectrum can expect during a traffic stop, including procedure to give the officer the envelope itself. On the back, it gives instructions for the officer on how to respond. 'This is for both ways, for us to be able to communicate better and to help the person that we just may need to educate them. 'Hey, you did this when you were driving,' and that's all it is,' Echevarria said, holding up the envelope. 'They may deal with that differently, and so we want to be aware of that, and we want them to be safe.' The department has already partnered with Trillium Place offering a co-response unit to help in de-escalation. An autism awareness event will be held on April 26 at the building that houses the co-response unit where sensory kits will be handed out. These kits will now be in all of the squad cars. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Yahoo
Peoria teen, accused of shooting 9-year-old boy, appears in court and ordered held
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — A 15-year-old who is accused of shooting a 9-year-old last week was wearing an ankle monitoring bracelet that helped police crack the case. The boy, whose case is being heard in the juvenile division of Peoria County Circuit Court, appeared on charges of attempted burglary and aggravated battery with a firearm, charges that could keep him in prison until his 21st birthday. More teens arrested in connection to shooting that injured 9-year-old He appeared in court dressed in clothing of an inmate at the county's juvenile detention center. He said little except to answer the judge's questions. Judge Vincent Cail ordered him held at the detention center pending an answer hearing later this month. The judge cited the nature of the crime — a young boy being shot — as well as the teen's prior cases which including illegal possession of a firearm, aggravated robbery, aggravated unlawful of weapons and possession of a stolen motor vehicle. Because the case is in the juvenile division, WMBD will not print the boy's name or give out further court dates based upon court order. The teen was the subject of an emotional press conference called by the city's top cop on Tuesday night who expressed outrage that a 9-year-old boy was shot while eating dinner. Police Chief Eric Echevarria praised his officers on the rapid arrest which came within 24 hours. 9-year-old boy recovering from gunshot wound to the chest; no arrests made yet Two other juveniles have been arrested. Anna Perales of the State's Attorney's office said those cases are under review. It appears surveillance footage and the electronic monitoring bracelet which the boy was wearing for a prior case are the keys to his arrest. The boy had been charged last month with aggravated unlawful use of weapons and was free on pretrial release, but he was required to wear an ankle monitor. He had been held since Monday on allegations that he violated conditions of pretrial release by not being at home when he was supposed to be. Also, the youth had two other pending cases in addition to the new one and last's month's weapons charge. He was to be sentenced this month on charges of possessing a stolen vehicle and for criminal trespass in two separate cases. He pleaded guilty late last year and was awaiting sentencing. According to prosecutors, the boy and his family were at the home in the Riverwest Apartments, located in the 1200 block of Southwest Phoenix Drive when the mother heard noises outside. She looked out and saw three people trying to break into her 2016 Kia Sorrento. Her boyfriend went outside to talk to them and the three would-be burglars ran off. Then she heard two or three shots. Downstairs was her son, who said 'ow,' the prosecutor said. When she came downstairs, she saw he had been shot in the back and the bullet had gone out his chest. He was rushed to an area hospital where Echevarria said Tuesday night he was in stable condition with non life-threatening injuries. Police looked at surveillance footage at the house and saw three. One of them was wearing a surgical mask, was short and appeared to have the bracelet on his ankle. That person, the footage showed firing a gun as he was running off, the prosecutor said. Officers reached out to juvenile probation officers who said the only bracelet that was up and working in that area was the 15-year-old's. Using that, the officers followed him and the others around the area. They were able to talk to him on Monday and he said he had been in the area but had only heard the shot, and did not admit to the shooting. Officers also got surveillance footage at a nearby gas station which allegedly showed the teen buying some chips and pulling down his mask. The judge, noting the boy's past record which included several juvenile cases and that he had two pending cases, opted to order him held in custody. This story will be updated. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Yahoo
Peoria police share shooting information from 2024
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Information from the Peoria Police Department's Year-to-Date Shooting Report shows that shooting incidents were down in the city last year. Peoria police spokeswoman Semone Roth said Chief Eric Echevarria was not issuing any statement on the numbers. According to the report, there were 77 shooting incidents in Peoria last year. This was down from the 107 incidents reported in 2023. The total number of shooting victims was also down from 137 in 2023 to 90 in 2024. The number of homicides has also gone down, with 25 homicides in 2023 going down to 20 in 2024. The report also showed a slight drop in the number of Homicides caused by gunshot wounds, with 19 reported in 2023 and 18 reported in 2024. According to the report, there was a decrease in the number of weapons recovered last year, with 425 recovered in 2023 compared to the 402 recovered in 2024. However, there was an increase in the number of stolen firearms recovered, with 50 recovered in 2023 compared with the 59 recovered last year. Peoria 2023 crime statistics show crime increase The report also shows that shootings are slightly down for the start of 2025. Only two shooting incidents have been reported this month, compared to the five that were reported this time last year. The number of homicide victims remains the same, with one homicide having occurred both this year, and by this time last year. This story will be updated. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
