Firework Flies Under Moving Cop Car and Other Explosive 4th of July Tales

The following Tinley Park Police Department reports indicate people cited on or near July 4 under the Village of Tinley Parks's municipal ordinance regarding the possession or use of fireworks:

FRIDAY, JULY 5

Officers saw several hundred used fireworks at about 12:04 a.m. in the backyard of a home in the 7600 block of 162nd Street, according to a police report. The 25-year-old homeowner said he had just finished for the night. He was issued a citation and is due on July 29 in Bridgeview court.

THURSDAY, JULY 4

• Officers found two 20-year-old men with a "large amount of fireworks" at about 10:48 p.m., according to a police report. Both were cited.
• A 31-year-old man was seen setting off fireworks at about 9:30 p.m. in the front yard of his home in the first block of Odyssey Drive, according to a police report. Police took the following items: a box of Strobe Lights, a Gold Dragon Fountain, five small bottle rockets, six medium bottle rockets, six Wild Geese bottle rockets, two Magical roman candles and six Ground Bloom Flowers.
• Police on patrol spotted a large fireworks display at about 9:35 p.m., near the intersection of Maplewood Court and Brementowne Road, according to a police report. Several men and women were standing in the area. A 30-year-old man told police the fireworks were his and that he ignited them. He was cited and is due on July 29 in Bridgeview court.
• A teenager was cited after police noticed a fireworks display going off at about midnight in the backyard of a home in the 16600 block of Richard Drive, according to a police report. The teen said the fireworks were his and that he only had a few left. He is due on Aug. 23 in Bridgeview court.
• A 40-year-old man cursed at police and accused them of "ruining his children's Fourth of July" when an officer told him the fireworks he was using would be confiscated, according to a police report. Police saw a fireworks display at about 8:47 p.m., in the area of Woodland Drive. Officers spotted several used fireworks in the driveway of a home in the 8300 block of Woodland Drive. A family was in the front yard. The father claimed that police never saw him shooting off the fireworks, and if anyone was in trouble, it should be his wife because she was closer to the spent fireworks. The man is due on July 29 in Bridgeview court.
• A 43-year-old man was cited after police saw him ignite a firework at about 10:59 p.m., in the 7400 block of West 163rd Street, according to a police report. He did this after police told him earlier in the night that it was illegal to shoot them off.
• A firework flew at about 11:25 p.m., down the 7200 block of 173rd Street and underneath a police car, according to a police report. Police stopped driving and spoke with a 35-year-old man who said he didn't intend that to happen and claimed he was out of fireworks. He was cited and is due on July 29 in Bridgeview court.
• Police were called at about 11 p.m. to the 16300 block of South 84th Avenue for a fireworks complaint, according to a police report. They reporting seeing a 43-year-old man walking away from several blown fireworks in the driveway. Officers got him to agree to clean up the spent debris. The man is due on July 29 in Bridgeview court.
• A 47-year-old woman who was cited by police for having fireworks at about 9:25 p.m. was cited again later that night, according to a police report. The person who called police said that shortly after police left the first time, someone in the woman's backyard launched a firework at them and shouted, "This one is for you." The woman is due on July 29 in Bridgeview court.
• A 35-year-old Oak Lawn man was cited after police watched him launch fireworks from near the Andrew High School football field, according to a police report. The man had about 15 unused fireworks when police stopped him. He told police that he chose the area to be a safe distance away from where some neighbor children lived.
• The 25-year-old owner of a home in the 16300 block of Paxton Avenue took responsibility for fireworks launched in his backyard at about 6:52 p.m, according to a police report. While police were issuing the citation, several more fireworks were fired off. The man denied having any more and refused to allow police to check. He is due on July 29 in Bridgeview court.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 3

• A 38-year-old man was cited after police spotted a fireworks display going off at about 9:40 p.m., behind a home in the 19300 block of Lisadell Drive, according to a police report. The man was allegedly holding a package of "World Class Flaming Balls." He is due on July 29 in Bridgeview court.
• Police were called at 10:30 p.m., about a man who was shooting off fireworks from a second-floor balcony in the 17300 block of Ridgeland Avenue, according to a police report. An officer found the man with three packages of bottle rockets.

SATURDAY, JUNE 29

A 28-year-old man told police he was done shooting off fireworks when they came at about 12:29 a.m., to his home in the 16700 block of Farmview Court, according to a police report. An officer found a box of used fireworks in the garbage. When he walked back to the squad car, the officer noticed several unused fireworks tossed under a car in the driveway.

Police report information is provided by the Tinley Park Police Department and other law enforcement agencies. Charges are not evidence of guilt. They are a record of police actions on a given day, and persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. If you or a family member are charged or cited and the case is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to notify the editor. We will verify and report the outcome.