Charges have been filed after part of Millennium Park was evacuated on a crowded Saturday night as police investigated a suspicious package that authorities said appeared to be part of a game.
Emmett DeFrisco, 18, was charged with one count of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor, according to police News Affairs Officer Michael Sullivan.
Police said they were called at 5:36 p.m. to the park -- two hours before a concert was to begin. They found the package near the Cloud Gate sculpture, popularly known as “The Bean.’’ The package turned out to be nothing more than two bricks wrapped in duct tape, according to a police officer at the scene.
The package was part of a role-playing game, police said.
The incident caused a huge emergency response. The Fire Department called a Level 1 Hazmat and sent 55 people and 20 pieces of equipment, spokesman Will Knight said. Fire and police vehicles lined Michigan Avenue from Monroe to Randolph, which was closed to northbound traffic for several hours.
“It was much ado about nothing," an officer at the scene said.
The Park Grill inside the park was also evacuated. A spokesman for the restaurant said the closure could cost them $20,000.
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A trio of suspects were questioned, but two of them were later released without being charged.
The entire park reopened by 9:30 p.m.
