A Chicago woman is facing serious charges following a viral video that allegedly shows her using a shovel to smash the windshield of a Chicago police squad car in the Gold Coast area.
The video, initially shared by Chicago Critter, depicts 24-year-old Jane Loveless standing beside a Chicago Police Department squad car on Dearborn Parkway on the afternoon of Wednesday, April 8. The footage shows her repeatedly hitting the car’s front windshield with a shovel as officers looked on in disbelief.
“OK,” remarks one officer in the video, “Now you’re going to jail.”
Police were called around 2 p.m. to respond to a criminal damage report in the first block of West Division Street. They were directed north on State Street to search for a suspect. Shortly after, bystanders in the 1200 block of Dearborn Parkway flagged them down, reporting that Loveless had stolen a shovel and damaged a vehicle nearby, according to a CPD report.
Upon approaching Loveless, officers noted she became agitated and walked away with the shovel. Attempts to de-escalate the situation using time and distance techniques were reported as “unsuccessful” by an officer.
In the video, an officer questions Loveless about the situation. She responds, “You’re next,” while carrying the shovel and eventually perching on a window ledge.
The footage then cuts to the moment she attacks the squad car. An officer later retrieved the shovel from Loveless and took her into custody.
Further investigation revealed that Loveless had also smashed the windshields of three additional vehicles nearby: a 2026 BMW M440i at the 100 block of West Elm Street, a 2015 Chevy Equinox at 75 West Elm Street, and a 2024 Audi Q5 at 38 West Elm Street. She later informed the police that she damaged the cars for reasons she could not explain, according to the CPD report.
Loveless faces four counts of criminal damage to property, with three of these charges being felonies. Prosecutors opted not to seek her detention, and she was released by Judge James Costello.
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