Palatine police explain what triggered armed response

Anyone who happened to pass by the corner of Dundee and Baldwin roads in Palatine Friday evening might have witnessed a traffic stop that appeared anything but routine.

Uniformed and plain-clothed officers could be seen searching a car with weapons drawn and directing its occupants to the ground, face first, to be handcuffed.

Palatine police Cmdr. Kurt Schroeder later explained that police had received a report around 7:30 p.m. of a man waving a gun in a parking lot on the 1200 block of Wyndham Court.

Police located a car matching the witness's description a couple of blocks away on the 1600 block of Baldwin Road.

Officers had their guns drawn throughout the traffic stop. All five of the car's occupants were told to lie on the ground and were handcuffed.

That's standard procedure, Schroeder said.

"If an officer conducts a traffic stop on a vehicle reported to have a gun, you automatically upgrade your tactics," he said.

Authorities said they found a pellet gun in plain view in the car.

"The gun is real until we find out otherwise," Schroeder said.

Police said they also found 200 grams of marijuana inside a Victoria's Secret bag.

Only one of the car's occupants was charged. Police said Alexander Gonzalez, 19, of 1223 E. Inverrary Lane in Palatine, was charged with marijuana possession and driving on a suspended license. He was not charged in connection with the pellet gun.

A Cook County judge set bond at $10,000. Gonzalez is scheduled to appear in court July 30.