Bail denied for man who was shot after breaching Millennium Park security, aiming gun at guards

Sun-Times file photo

Bail was denied Sunday for a man who was shot after allegedly aiming a handgun at security guards at Millennium Park on Friday — a day after heightened security measures were put in place following another shooting.

Jordan Jackson, 22, of the Brainerd neighborhood, was charged with counts of aggravated assault of a peace officer, unlawful use of a weapon and possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number, authorities said.

Chicago Police Department

Jackson was trying to enter the park around 7:20 p.m. when he refused to go through a security checkpoint, according to Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy. After making it inside the park, three security guards spotted Jackson by the Cloud Gate sculpture — known commonly as “The Bean” — and tried to get his attention and usher him toward an exit.

Jackson eventually turned toward them while aiming a silver handgun, sending the guards and two guests ducking for cover, Murphy said. One of the guards, identified as an off-duty Cook County sheriff’s officer, then fired several shots as Jackson advanced.

Struck in the buttocks, Jackson ran to the riverfront and dumped the gun in the water as a Chicago cop and another guard from the park followed and watched, Murphy said. When officers attempted to take him into custody, Jackson struggled with them, hopped onto a party boat and tossed what’s believed to be a magazine into the river.

He was eventually arrested on the boat, according to Murphy, who said the Police Department’s marine unit later searched the river and found a stainless steel 9mm handgun. The serial number had been defaced and it was loaded with 12 rounds.

Surveillance cameras captured Jackson aiming the gun at the park and tossing an object in the river, Murphy said. There was, however, no indication that he fired the weapon, as police previously reported.

The shooting comes amid a spate of violence that has rocked downtown in recent weeks.

The increased security measures at the park — including a ban on unaccompanied minors coming to the park after 6 p.m. Thursday through Sunday — were implemented after 16-year-old Seandell Holliday was fatally shot during a fight near “The Bean” on May 14, when chaos ensued after large crowds gathered downtown.

Murphy on Sunday urged Judge Susana Ortiz to deny Jackson bail, arguing that he poses “a real and present threat” to the community after allegedly circumventing security and then brandishing the gun.

Samantha Petitti, Jackson’s public defender, noted her client is self-employed and has no prior criminal history. She insisted he “was simply walking away and being followed” by the guards and claimed it was “questionable” to link him to the recovered gun as she asked Ortiz to set bail.

But in denying that request and holding Jackson without bail, Ortiz said she doubted that “there’s any monetary amount of bail that the court can impose that will secure the safety of the community.”

His next court date was set for Friday.