Peoria Police Department

A 17-year-old girl died early Thursday after the vehicle she was in was struck by another vehicle that fled from a traffic stop in Peoria’s East Bluff neighborhood.

Peoria Heights Mayor Matt Wigginton has been found not guilty of misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence.

Peoria Police are testing a first responder drone, allowing officers to assess a scene remotely. In the pilot program's first days, police used the drone in place of a high speed chase involving a stolen ambulance.

A Peoria man found dead inside an East Bluff residence Monday suffered fatal injuries that prompted a homicide investigation, according to Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood. Two people have been arrested in connection with the incident.

The Peoria Police Department is running a one-week pilot program using drones as emergency first responders. The trial is aimed at improving response times, enhancing community and officer safety, and providing police with critical information prior to arriving at a scene.

A planned Advanced Medical Transport ambulance station on Peoria’s north side is expected to double as the site of a new Peoria Police Department substation.

Police said they responded to a residence in the 500 block of East Seneca Place in the East Bluff for a welfare check on someone inside.

The Riverview Plaza tower in Downtown Peoria has been shuttered for more than two years, as the city pushes the building owner to fix the fire suppression, sprinkler and electrical systems. City Manager Patrick Urich said Peoria is doing everything within its power to see the building brought into code compliance.

Shooting incidents, gunshot victims and total homicides in Peoria are down slightly through the first six months of 2026, compared with a year ago.

The City of Peoria will spend about $500,000 a year to hire six civilian community service officers aimed at boosting the police department’s daytime security presence downtown.