Instead Of Arresting Teen, Cop Buys His Gym Membership

SKOKIE, IL — A Chicago teen kept sneaking past the front desk at a Skokie gym to play basketball with his friends after his mother could no longer afford to pay for his membership, and after repeated warnings, the gym called police in late August, the Skokie Review reports. But an officer who responded to the trespassing call at the X-Sport Fitness, 3450 Touhy Ave., didn't end up writing an arrest report, instead ended up filling out some membership paperwork.

Officer Mario Valenti of the Skokie Police Department offered to pay $150 out of his own pocket to pick up the boy's gym membership. That would've only covered a few months, but when the gym's operations manager called corporate headquarters to report what Valenti had done, the company offered to provide a two-year membership (a roughly 80 percent discount from the normal cost of $718.)

The boy, about 15 years old, attends a Chicago school and lives just over the border from Skokie, and already gotten national attention for his basketball skills, according to the paper. Valenti said the teen has reconsidered his negative attitude about police as a result of the interaction.

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