Police Persuade 'Possibly Suicidal' Woman To Leave Downtown Roof

EVANSTON, IL — Police successfully talked a suicidal woman down from the roof of a downtown parking garage Friday afternoon. After more than two hours on the ledge of the 12-story garage, officers from the Evanston Police Department's crisis intervention team assisted the woman to come down from the structure and seek mental health treatment, police said.

Around 1:30 p.m., Glenview police notified Evanston emergency telecommunications that they were looking for a possibly endangered woman for a check of well-being and had tracked her cell phone to the area of the garage, according to Cmdr. Ryan Glew.

An alert Evanston dispatcher checked security camera feeds from the garage and found a woman matching the description provided by Glenview police standing on the edge of the parking structure's roof, he said.

Crisis intervention team officers spoke with the woman for several hours and arranged for her to speak to family members, according to police.

The situation was resolved around 3:30 p.m. when the woman was transported to Skokie Hospital, Glew said.

The incident at the city-owned Davis Street parking garage at the corner of Benson Avenue and Davis Street shut several downtown roads to cars and pedestrians for several hours.

Incident resolved without injury. All traffic is open. No pedestrian restriction restrictions
— Evanston, IL Police (@EvanstonPD) January 26, 2018

Street closures included the 1600 block of Benson Avenue, the 1700 block of Sherman Avenue and the 600 and 800 blocks of Davis Street by around 2:15 p.m., police said. Some buses were rerouted due to the closures. An alternative bus stop was established near Davis Street and Maple Avenue.

Aldermen have discussed and rejected adding a fence to the top of the garage to deter young people from loitering and throwing items from the roof as well as suicidal people, Evanston Now reported last year.