{"id":43764,"date":"2017-09-19T04:45:04","date_gmt":"2017-09-19T04:45:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=43764"},"modified":"2017-09-19T04:45:04","modified_gmt":"2017-09-19T04:45:04","slug":"kenneka-jenkins-case-remain-rosemont-police-not-fbi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/kenneka-jenkins-case-remain-rosemont-police-not-fbi.html","title":{"rendered":"Kenneka Jenkins case to remain with Rosemont police, not FBI"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kenneka Jenkins case to remain with Rosemont police, not FBI<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Kenneka Jenkins case to remain with Rosemont police, not FBI:- Police in Rosemont on Monday said the investigation into the death of Kenneka Jenkins, the Chicago teenager who was found dead in a hotel walk-in freezer Sept. 10, will remain in their hands despite requests from activists that an outside agency become involved.<\/span><\/p>\n

A statement from police Chief Donald Stephens released Monday evening said, “This investigation has been and remains the utmost priority for us.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The statement came on the heels of a memorial for Jenkins in Chicago’s Douglas Park on Saturday that was followed by a march to FBI headquarters on Roosevelt Road. About 30 of the 100 people gathered at the park were involved in the march and said they were dissatisfied with hotel video released by Rosemont police on Friday.<\/span><\/p>\n

“We’re here at the FBI building asking for a second look,” activist Mark Carter told reporters among a crowd of supporters at the front gate of the FBI’s Illinois Medical District headquarters Saturday.<\/span><\/p>\n

Carter and the group promised to put an economic hardship on Rosemont.<\/span><\/p>\n

Contributing to increased tensions following Jenkins’ death was a misstatement by an activist who told reporters last week, prior to the release of surveillance video by police, that no one lured Jenkins into the freezer. The activist later clarified that the footage shows Jenkins staggering through an empty kitchen at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare hotel but does not show her entering the freezer where she was later found dead.<\/span><\/p>\n

Authorities have said they’re treating the case as a death investigation, not a homicide.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jenkins’ mother, Teresa Martin, said she supports a federal investigation, saying the videos did not make sense to her.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I’m not a professional, but the FBI, from what I heard, they are professionals,” said Martin, whose first name is sometimes spelled Tereasa. “I’m just looking for help \u2014 that’s all I’ve been asking for since day one.”<\/span><\/p>\n

On Monday evening, a few dozen protesters again gathered along the sidewalk outside the Crowne Plaza in Rosemont, chanting slogans like, “No justice, no peace. This hotel won’t get no sleep.”<\/span><\/p>\n

At one point, a line of local police in squad cars approached the protesters, followed by more officers on bicycles, and a paddy wagon was stationed nearby. Some protesters shouted angrily at the officers while other protesters appeared to restrain them, but as of about 7:45 p.m., the gathering remained peaceful and it appeared no one was detained.<\/span><\/p>\n

“We need the FBI to take over this case because the public trust is not there for the Rosemont Police Department,” activist Jedidiah Brown said during Monday evening’s protest.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the statement earlier Monday declining assistance from the FBI, Stephens said his agency already has spoken up and asked when an outside agency was able to provide assistance, he said. In this case, however, he wrote about how confident he is in his team.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I am fully confident in the ability of each and every one of the officers, detectives, and leadership team charged with this case. At no time have I doubted the work that is being done,” Stephens wrote in the statement.<\/span><\/p>\n

Surveillance video released by Rosemont police Friday appears to show that no one else entered the freezer area between the time Jenkins was seen stumbling through the kitchen and when her body was discovered nearly 24 hours later.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source;-\u00a0http:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/news\/local\/breaking\/ct-kenneka-jenkins-case-to-remain-with-rosemont-police-not-fbi-20170918-story.html<\/span><\/p>\n

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